Theme: one step ahead

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).

Aula I, main building of RWTH Aachen University
Templergraben55
Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, 52062
Germany

Duo Joncol & Kurt Fuhrmann

Britta Schmitt and Carles Guisado Moreno studied at the Music Academies of Barcelona, Cologne and Lucerne, where they completed with summa cum laude. They had their debut as Duo Joncol in Barcelona in 2008 and have since been repeatedly awarded internationally. Within their project Joncol 4, they perform with befriended German percussionist Kurt Fuhrmann and Spanish singer Anna Colom, combining classical music with Spain’s contemporary Flamenco. Kurt Fuhrmann has studied percussion in Cologne with a focus on Jazz and has a special interest in different percussion instruments from all over the world.

Hôpital

Hôpital is a young emerging band from Aachen that combines thoughtful and calm sounds with discrete rhythms, creating a diverse performance. Their arrangement develops around a central guitar or piano line supporting Mareen Wego’s clear voice, enriched by the warm cello sound of young Antonin Chudoba, who joined in 2014. The band further consists of Frank Schulze playing the guitar, Thorge Voell at the drums and Sed Essaydi at the base.

Andera Gadeib

Andera Gadeib is an online enthusiast and digital entrepreneur who started way back in the early days of the internet. Founder of Dialego, SmartMunk and lets-balance.de, she works with blue chip companies as well as public institutions. Andera is an expert in the field of digital transformation and a member of the board “Young Digital Economy” advising the German Federal Ministry of Economy as well as the board of BITMi. On her website, the mother of three blogs about the future of digital education as well as women entrepreneurship.

André Bardow

André Bardow is a professor and Head of the Chair of Technical Thermodynamics at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. He studied mechanical engineering with a major in chemical engineering at Aachen and Carnegie Mellon University and later received a Ph.D. in process systems engineering. He held positions as a Postdoc at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and associate professor in the Department of Process & Energy at TU Delft, Netherlands. In 2010 he returned to RWTH Aachen University to take on the Chair of Technical Thermodynamics. His research aims at integrating life-cycle thinking into engineering design for sustainable chemicals and energy.

Erik Joosten

Erik Joosten is a Dutch entrepreneur and innovator in the best sense. CEO of his own health care company ARION Group, he is a mentor to small and medium-sized businesses and guest lecturer at the University of Maastricht, the Netherlands. Erik talks innovation and he lives it. Listen to his inspiring anecdote about what eventually built his company.

Jürgen Schäfer

Jürgen Schäfer, professor of preventive cardiology, is the founder and director of the Center of Unknown and Rare Disease in Marburg. Together with a team of health professionals from various backgrounds his research focuses on helping those patients that haven’t been diagnosed yet. Through his unprecedented work Jürgen Schäfer has become known as the German Dr. House.

Kazem Abdullah

A vibrant, versatile and compelling presence on the podium, American conductor Kazem Abdullah is one of the most watched up-and-coming talents on the international stage today. Since 2012 he is the chief musical director of the City of Aachen where he leads both the orchestral and operatic seasons. Among his orchestral credits are the Berliner Kammerphilharmonie, Chicago Sinfonietta and the National Arts Center Orchestra of Ottawa.

Lisa Haalck

Lisa has been many things in her young life; but right now, she is a student. Through multifaceted interests and the urge to experience the unknown, she has visited various universities and has lived in several different countries. After finishing her bachelor's degree in German philology and Arts in Braunschweig and several stopovers in Stockholm, Berlin, and France later, she finds her present-day field of interest in Psychology.

Rafaela Hillerbrand

Rafaela Hillerbrand is a professor for philosophy of science, technology and engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Before her position at KIT, Rafaela worked as an associate professor at Delft University of Technology and was Head of the interdisciplinary research group EET – ethics for energy technology – at the Human Technology Centre (HumTec) at RWTH Aachen University. Besides her academic work, she also advises the German Government regarding the energy transition. In 2011 she assisted the ethics commission for safe energy supply which was set up in reaction to the accidents in Fukushima, Japan.

Robert Böhm

Robert Böhm is Assistant Professor of Decision Analysis at the School of Business and Economics, RWTH Aachen University. As a behavioral scientist with an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspective, he integrates methods and theories from psychology, economics, biology, and related areas into his research, focusing on intergroup conflicts, health and environmental behavior. Let him inspire you to a deeper understanding of how people make decisions and how you can improve your one decision-making.