Theme: UNBOX YOUR MIND

TEDxVITVellore '16, VIT university's fourth edition of the remarkable world-class conferences that had come to be associated with the name of TED. We at TEDxVITVellore envision to provide a palatial platform for the change makers of tomorrow to assemble and help us in reflecting ways to design better and faster ways in finding solutions to the existing problems with unique and unconventional ideas.The conglomeration of ideas to think out of the box is the essence of this conference.

VIT University Vellore
Vellore Institute of Technology
Technology Tower
Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632014
India

Laxmi Agarwal

Founder Chhanv Foundation

Laxmi Agarwal is an Indian campaigner with Stop Acid Attacks and a TV host. She is an acid attack survivor and speaks for the rights of acid attack victims. She was attacked in 2005 at age 15, by a 32-year-old man whose advances she had rejected. Her story, among others, was told in a series on acid attack victims by Hindustan Times. She has also advocated against acid attacks through gathering 27,000 signatures for a petition to curb acid sales, and taking that cause to the Indian Supreme Court. Her petition led the Supreme Court to order the central and state governments to regulate the sale of acid, and the Parliament to make prosecutions of acid attacks easier to pursue. She is the director of Chhanv Foundation, a NGO dedicated to help the survivors of acid attacks in India. Laxmi received a 2014International Women of Courage award by US First Lady Michelle Obama. She was also chosen as the NDTV Indian of the Year.

Lohit Sahu

Phyzok Learning Solutions

Lohit, a graduate from BITS Pilani, is a young first-generation entrepreneur currently working in education space. His firm, Phyzok, has pioneered Customized Flipped Classroom Model in India. Lohit has been awarded with "The Star Entrepreneur of the year" for 2012 at the 5th Indira International Innovation Summit. Businessworld Magazine had listed Lohit among the top 10 Hottest Young Entrepreneurs in India (2011). Lohit is also the recipient of the prestigious BITSAA Global 30 Under 30 Award (Category: Entrepreneurship) for the year 2012.

Lucas Dengel

Founder Executive EcoPro

Dr. Lucas is a trained doctor trained in medicine at the University Of Mainz, Germany. He has over fourteen years of experience in the fields of public hygiene with focus on public health related to environment. Not only did he coordinate a UNICEF program addressing water management at Tamil Nadu schools but also produced a number of educational materials dealing with water management and sanitation. he founded AuruAnnam, a business unit of Auroville in 2000 to promote organic farming and ecological sanitation. He's also the founder of EcoPro, a business unit specializing in EM(effective Microorganisms) in technology.

Manasi Joshi

Para Badminton Player

Manasi Joshi is a person who wakes up with determination and needless to say is the definition of will power. Her only fear was that she wouldn’t be able to play badminton. But, Joshi defied all odds to win several medals at the National level. Not only did Joshi go on to win the silver medal in the Para Badminton World Championship held in England this year but she also has trained for five hours a day, while juggling her job as a software engineer. When people ask her how she does so much, her response is — "what’s stopping you?" Manasi’s spirit, determination and positive attitude inspire many around the world.

MC Abbas

India's Most Popular Award Winning IPL TV Anchor

Awarded the Best Anchor Award @ Celeb magazine Lifestyle Entertainment Awards, MC Abbas is the Chairman & managing director of ABBAS INC. -"The Answer to all your MC-ing, PR, Media & Event solutions” . He was also the PR Head of the Hollywood Red Carpet Movie Premiere for Creative Inn Events. He has also been nominated for the prestigious "Young Achievers Awards" By The Rotary International Club. MC Abbas has anchored IPL events for Deccan Chargers & Royal Challengers Bangalore. He’s just 25 years old and so far he has anchored over 2000 events, has been the voice of some of the biggest events of the city, over 200 corporate clientele. MC for Roadies Cheat Code Launch With MTV VJ Nikhil Chinappa, Official MC For Formula 1 Quizzes in the city, MC For Kolaveri Di Concert With Dhanush, Slayer, AXN, Sean Paul. MC Abbas has a very pleasant stage presence and he can calmly and graciously handle the unexpected.

Rajalingam Manickavasan

Author & Social Transformer, Founder- For A Change Trust

Rajalingam Manickavasan is a social transformer, an author and an entrepreneur. He is the founder of an NGO focussing on social transformation through youth and women empowerment with focus on education, employment and entrepreneurship. He has conceptualized and organised Chennai Pink Run, Chennai's first and exclusive women's marathon for breast cancer awareness. Needless to say, Mr. Rajalingam is an all rounder and it's an honor for us to host him at our event.

Sayani Gupta

Indian Cinema Actor

Sayani Gupta is an Indian Model and actress who made her way into Bollywood with powerful roles in movies like Margarita with a straw, Baar Baar Dekho and the latest SRK release, fan. Sayani has a passion for photography, travel, dance and folk music. she's trained in Bharatnayam, contemporary and modern dance. Being a student of cinema, she finds deep interest in assisting and volunteers in various departments of film making from art direction, camera, costumes, casting and the list is never ending. We are thrilled to host her at our event.

Shruti Katyal

Founder O'happySunshine

Shruti Katyal is a 33-year-old new mom who launched her website ,www.ohappysunshine.com that gave users both functional and stylish nursing apparel to help them integrate breastfeeding into their life. She was ready to leave her job with IBM, to pursue her ideas and her new role as a mother, full-time.By unboxing her mind and believing in herself, she managed to successfully ace her venture which was initially run by a seven-member team - has grown entirely on word-of-mouth,becoming profitable and cash-flow positive.

Shyam Renganathan

Radio Presenter and Producer

Shyam Renganathan is a Radio Presenter and Producer at Fever 91.9 FM. Actor by profession, his interests also lie in content writing, standup comic, advertising and social media. Currently, he’s working with an Entertainment collaborative –‘Stray Factory’ and the very famous YouTube Channel –‘Enna Da Rascalas’. He was selected as ‘ThatPepsiIntern’ in April 2014 for the IPL. Furthermore, his play titled ‘To B.E or Not to B.E’ was awarded the ‘Best Script’ Award at Short+Sweet Festival, Chennai Edition. Against all odds, his ‘smile-on’ attitude , rigor and dedication to keep trying, in the end got him an exciting job which he really loves. He believes in exploring new possibilities, motivating his team to push their limits and surprise people with exceptional work.