As the 2023 TEDxImperialCollege annual conference, Conflux, has come to an end, we would like to extend our appreciation to those who attended and the hardworking team of TEDxImperialCollege. We would especially like to send heartfelt congratulations to all the speakers, as your dedication and passion for spreading ideas worth sharing have made this year's event a huge success (Roma Agrawal MBE, Shaun Flores, Dr. Grant Van Ulbrich, Kevin Buzzard, Aryan Shah, Shreyas Kuchibhotla, Zoe Barnett, Hassan Esufally FRGS, Johnson Situ, and ChatGPT)
But, this is just the beginning! We firmly believe that there will be bigger and better things from TEDxImperialCollege. The ideas that were shared during the conference have the power to change the world, and we hope that they inspire you to take action in your own lives. We can't wait to see what the future holds and look forward to continuing this journey with you all. Thank you for being a part of this incredible community!
Have a look at some of the pictures from the event and read more about the speakers below!
Meet the speakers
Dr. Grant Van Ulbrich
Talk: How can we manage personal change?
Dr Grant Van Ulbrich is the global director of sales transformation at Royal Caribbean International cruise line. He is the first in the cruise and hospitality industry to graduate with a master's and doctoral program focused on leading sales transformation. He is a certified sales transformation coach and author, and is academically published. Grant's passion is through leading transformation that champions individual inclusion.
In his talk, he will be introducing a new personal change model he created within his academic research tested with employees and his B2B customers. The new model titled SCARED SO WHAT teaches people how to manage personal change for themselves, and for others.
Hassan Esufally
Talk: How to achieve your dream life - unlock your potential through adventure and setting clear goals
Hassan is an adventurer, athlete, professional speaker, and entrepreneur. He has travelled to over 70 countries across all seven continents with some incredible adventures on each one. He is currently studying business and entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge and is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. His talk will inspire you to delve into your reservoirs of untapped potential, live adventurously and believe that anything is possible!
Aryan Shah
Talk: Exploration for the generations
Aryan Shah is a second-year Earth and Planetary Science student at ICL.
His talk will cover why exploring Earth's oceans is so important and how it can bring impact and positive change to life on land.
70% of our world is covered by oceans, but only 20% of it understood. "Let's exponentially innovate to change that."
Shreyas Kuchibhotla
Talk: 0, 8, 100 - Our complex relationship with snakes, spiders and centipedes
Shreyas Kuchibhotla is a second-year Biomedical Engineering student at Imperial College London with a passion for the wild, particularly all things serpentine. Apart from pursuing his academic interest in venomics, he spends most of his time in his natural habitat searching for and photographing reptiles and creepy crawlies.
In this talk, he intends to share some of his appreciation for these creatures, dispel some myths, and exhibit them as the evolutionary marvels they are.
Johnson Situ
Talk: Why now more than ever, we can no longer afford to be the silent friend
Johnson Situ is a Senior Adviser to the Mayor of London. Prior to this role, he was elected Councillor in the London borough of Southwark for over 7 years. Serving on Southwark Council's Cabinet in a range of roles including Cabinet Member for Growth, Development, Transport, and Jobs. He started his professional career working in the International development sector.
Johnson aims to explore what Martin Luther King may have meant when he said in the autumn of 1967: "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends." The talk will also draw on his personal experience to highlight how history is filled with people who have spoken up as part of unlikely alliances.
Zoe Barnett
Talk: The power of practice
Zoe Barnett is an award-winning classical guitarist currently studying at the Royal College of Music. She is a Young Artist for the International Guitar Foundation and regularly performs across the U.K.
After developing a spinal injury in 2021, she faced the news that she may never play at the same level again.
Join Zoe as she speaks about her experience of how an isolating moment can be the start of individuality and that it's never too late to change your own perspectives and daily mental and physical practices.
Kevin Buzzard
Talk: Will machines eat mathematics?
Kevin Buzzard got his PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1995 and after some time at Berkley, the Princeton IAS and Harvard, he settled in London. He became a professor of pure mathematics at Imperial College in 2005.
His talk will examine how the modern computer has enabled humans to do extremely fast calculations. However, the currency of research-level mathematics is not the calculation, but the theorem. Proving theorems requires human insight which computers cannot have. Or can they? Will the recent successes in large language models mean that computers will soon be beating humans at proving theorems, or is this just science fiction?
Roma Agrawal
Talk: How a nail built the world
Roma is a chartered structural engineer and author who has worked with signature architects during her fifteen-year career designing footbridges, towers and sculptures, including six years as a senior structural engineer on The Shard, the tallest tower in Western Europe.
She actively promotes engineering, scientific and technical careers to young people and particularly to under-represented groups such as women and people of colour. Over the last 8 years, she has spoken to thousands of people at schools, universities, and festivals across the country and abroad.
In her talk, she will be explaining how the nail has revolutionised the world.
Shaun Flores
Talk: The revolution is through the mind, the power of the upcoming psychedelic revolution
Shaun Flores is a creative who knows no boundaries, a professional agitator who dares to be an enigma in an extraordinary world, and an influencer aiming to have the right influence on the world. He speaks on mental health, well-being, politics and society.
Shaun received an OCD diagnosis at 27 years old and was enrolled on a psychedelic trial at Imperial College London which has since drastically reduced his OCD symptoms. Since then he has sought to understand, explore and speak more about the power of altered states of consciousness. From survivor to thriver with OCD, he has reclaimed his life and become an advocate/activist for those with OCD.