Theme: Crossroads-When scientific innovation and artistic excellence breaks even we realise true innovation

A confluence of bright and brilliant minds, hailing from diverse backgrounds and all walks of life, TEDxIIESTShibpur is being organised with the aim of exploring ground-breaking Ideas centered around the overlap of Arts and Science.

It's a conference where Thinkers, Doers and Idea-generators, from a gamut of professions, will share their insights, stories and perspectives, spark exuberant conversations and push the envelope a little more in our quest to explore the very frontiers of 'Crossroads'.

Institute Hall
IIEST Shibpur
Kolkata, West Bengal, 711103
India

Ansh Mishra

Model+Traveller

An ardent believer of the fact that life is nothing but one great adventure , Ansh Mishra , a hitchhiker , has embarked upon a thrilling journey of exploring the nation and all the shades of humanity alongside. At 28 , he's a model , blogger , writer , entrepreneur and an MBA by profession but a nomad by choice. With a wild spirit , untamable fortitude and without a dime of certainty , he says hello to a new adventure each day !

Bobby Chakraborty

Actor+ Anti -Drug activist

A marine engineer by academics , an actor by profession , a teacher of method acting , an activist by choice and an Executive member of West Bengal Federation of United Nations Association , Bobby Chakraborty is an absolute justification to what is a brilliantly versatile soul ! Bobby is a celebrated and an eminent actor in the Bengali and Hindi television circuit but what stands out the most of his illustrious personality is that Bobby is an anti addiction crusader and has been vehemently spreading awareness against substance abuse. Under the tagline of " I AM THE KING OF MY MIND " Bobby has conducted over a hundred campaigns in schools and colleges , among the youth , against addiction to intoxicating substances . In the light of his noble efforts , Bobby has been bestowed with numerous awards as a change to the society.

Gourab Basu

Inventor+Strategist

Gourab Basu is an inventor, marketer and strategist. An IIEST alumnus and engineer with several patent grants, Gourab is in his elements as an inter-disciplinarian innovating at the intersection of business and Technology. He is currently a Vice President of Global Products at Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) based in San Francisco. He is passionate about giving back and has most recently served on board of a California based non-profit that provides support for successful aging. He has co-founded the annual Route 55 10 Km Run, a unique event that retraces a bus route from Esplanade to Howrah to raise money for a hospital serving the underprivileged.

Manjusha Banerjee

Engineer+Comedian

Manjusha Banerjee is an engineer by profession and moonlights as a standup comedian. Born and raised in Kolkata, she is currently based out of Hyderabad and works in Tata Consultancy Services. She is also a Toastmaster and is the first runner up at the International Speech Contest 2017, for District 98. She has performed all over the country as a Stand up comic and can be seen online portraying a popular character called Ruposhee, a simple sarcastic Bengali woman expressing her views on different topics."

Mita Tarafder

Researcher

A dynamic and vibrant personality , Mita Tarafder rightly exemplifies that nothing is beyond accomplishment for a woman. A Senior Principal Scientist, Business Development & Monitoring Division at CSIR-National Metallurgical Laboratory Jamshedpur , she is an alumnus of the renowned Cambridge University . She has a whopping 27 years of R & D experience , 30 international publications to her name and has authored a book on “Fractal evaluation of materials” . A Founder trustee of Relearn Foundation , Executive member of Indian Institute of Metals, Institution of Engineers (IE), Ideator of "Make My Robo" programme held at Jamshedpur ; the list goes on and on ! She believes in giving back to the society and is the founder of Digital Literacy Mission (DLM) for the underprivileged students and the proud recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Lady Engineer Award and CSIR’s Technology Award for Business Development and Technology Marketing !

Santosh Avvannavar

Author+Researcher

He is someone who has presumably touched countless horizons of academia ! An alumnus of a string of prestigious institutes , including the likes of University of Eindhoven and IISc Bangalore , his resume is as excellent as it gets ! He has over 25 publications of research documents and 16 conference papers to his name and has authored 15 books across different genres.His popular books like 'She-Ekla cholo re' , 'Umbilical Cord' and 'BUGman' are based on topics of self discovery , social awareness and other thought-provoking issues and continue to receive promising reviews !

Sayan Chakraborty

Entrepreneur

A quintessential embodiment of vigour and audacity , Sayan Chakraborty , 21 , is the executive director of Sayan Shipping Pvt. Ltd. , one of India's youngest entrepreneurs , motivational speaker a contestant of MTV Dropout and what not ! A major in International Relations from the State University of New York , he is also the founder of a unique startup called WTF ! ( Where's the Food !) and is a fiercely inspiring role model for today's youth

Sweta Ojha

Author

Sweta Ojha, a final year student pursuing her bachelors in Computer Science from Calcutta University ,is the debutant writer of the fiction novel ‘The Last Journal’ .She has worked as a Reporter and Executive for TTIS, a sister production of the newspaper The Telegraph, Kolkata. She is currently a board member of an NGO named SAVERA that works arduously in health and education sector.She has also been rewarded as The Times Of India Best Student Of The Year. She is an active blogger who has raised issues of concern and penned literary works that reflect an individual perspective.She is also vehemently vocal about the freedom of expression , much why the tagline to her blog says : “Never let the words fall short!”

Trina Chakrabarti

Child Right Activist

Having worked closely with young people for over a decade, Trina continues to be amazed by the power that the young volunteers unleash to bring about change in the lives of children.Her work with CRY has made her a firm believer of the fact that people still care. Her academic background in Social Work and Human Rights coupled with her experiences as a mother to an 8 year old have compelled her to deconstruct some of the myths that surround childhood, children and their capacities.