In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized (subject to certain rules and regulations).

The Byre Theatre
Abbey St
St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9LA
United Kingdom

Charlie Siem

Charlie Siem is one of today’s foremost young violinists. Siem has appeared with many of the world’s nest orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Passionate about bringing classical music to new audiences around the world, in addition to his classical performance career Siem has revived the age-old violinistic tradition of composing virtuosic variations of popular themes, which he has done alongside artists including Bryan Adams, Jamie Cullum and The Who. In 2014 he wrote his rst composition which was commissioned by US television station CBS Watch!, and recorded with the English Chamber Orchestra. Siem has also had numerous collaborations with fashion brands including Dunhill, Armani, Boss, and Dior.

Chris Andrews

Chris Andrews is a fourth year undergraduate student studying Spanish and Management. When he graduates from the University of St. Andrews he has decided not to apply for jobs or graduate school. Instead, he will be crossing the United States on foot, running from Virginia Beach, VA to Los Angeles, CA. As a graduating student at the University of St. Andrews he wanted to leave his mark, inspire others and make a real di erence before graduating.

Ekaterina Matveeva

Ekaterina has been working on the concept of the secondary linguistic personality since 2009 within her research and teaching practice around the world including UK, continental Europe, Russia and China. Since 2013 she has been organising international events like G20 exploring inter- cultural communication in business and politics. In 2014 she became the rst Russian female memory sportsman exploring how mnemonics could help in language learning. In 2015 she founded EuropeOnline, nowadays, Amolingua, ed: tech start-up, teaching people languages at an accelerated pace. CNBC selected her school into top 20 start-ups of the world and she received the title of UK Business Woman 2015 by the Grad Factor. Today Ekaterina masters 8 languages, and understands another dozen of relative groups. She is also a poet and writer, being selected in top 100 Russian poets of 2012, and published in 4 continents in 4 languages. In short, her life is re ected by the motto 3D: Dream, Decide, Do.

Kevin Harvie

Accountant turned entrepreneur, Kevin Harvie is the founder of Hectares Sweet Potato Crisps. From frying home-made crisps in his kitchen after work to getting his product on supermarket shelves, Kevin’s business has come a long way. Not only are sweet potatoes healthier, the production process itself has been adapted to ensure a healthier, tastier alternative. Based in Glasgow, their mission is to convert 1% of the UK’s white potato crisp eaters, who currently consume approximately 6 billion packets each year, to Hectares sweet potato crisps.

Kevin Raub

Kevin Raub is a Portugal-based travel and entertainment journalist who grew up in Atlanta and started his career in entertainment in New York. For the last decade, Raub has travelled the globe for a variety of publications, including New York Times T Magazine and BBC History. Raub is the co-author of numerous Lonely Planet travel guides, ranging from places such as the Caribbean Islands to India. A well-known Brazil expert, having resided there for seven years, Raub handled all of Lonely Planet’s on-the-ground social media coverage during the FIFA 2014 World Cup.

Maryam Golafshani

Maryam is a third-year student currently on a year abroad from Western University in Canada. As an English literature student, she explores the connection between the humanities and sciences using her experiences from attending intensive narrative medicine conference at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and doing medical humanities curriculum development for the American Medical Students’ Association and Western University.

Michael Weir

Dr. Michael Kenneth Weir is a lecturer at the School of Computer Science at the University of St Andrews and his research focus lies in arti cial intelligence. Already machines perform voice or facial recognition, execute high frequency trades in nancial markets and only seem to be becoming increasingly important. Why are people still smarter than digital computers? How can we model the information processing system of the human brain? These are the kinds of questions that Dr. Weir’s research provides insights into.

Oliver Morton

Oliver Morton is a British science writer and editor. Currently holding the position of The Economist‘s energy and environment editor, he has previously held roles as the chief news and features editor of Nature, the international scienti c journal and writing for major journals such as The American Scholar, National Geographic and the New Yorker. His specialties are in the energy business, climate science and policy. He is the author of “Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet”, a study of photosynthesis, its meanings and its implications, and “Mapping Mars: Science, Imagination and the Birth of a World”. His most recent book, published in 2016, is called “The Planet Remade: How Geoengineering Could Change the World”. Charlie Siem plays the 1735 Guarneri del Gesù violin, known as the ‘D’Egville’.

William Davis

Mr Justice William Davis is a High Court Judge in England and Wales. He tries both criminal, civil and public law cases in London and in the North of England. He is currently the Judicial Lead for Youth Justice in England and Wales and the Director of Criminal Training for the Judicial College of England and Wales. He was a member of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales (the body which issues guidelines for sentencing criminal cases) until 2015.