Theme: What's Your IKIGAI?

TEDxNirmaUniversity is an independently organised event at Nirma University, Ahmedabad, under the global TED franchise. It is a thriving colloquium of ideas, inspirations and intellectual exchanges that shares the same spirit as TED, of ‘Ideas worth spreading’. It is a day-long event featuring eminent speakers from various walks of life who deliver talks, that provide varied landscapes of creative collisions, but all resonate with the ultimate goal – the power of their ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world.

“What's your IKIGAI?”
It’s not just a question. It’s a prism of introspection, a way of finding passion with purpose.
IKIGAI is a Japanese word that translates to – ‘The reason to wake up every morning and the reason for finding joy and happiness.’ IKIGAI is the intersection of three concepts – your values, things you like to do and things you are good at. If you have found your IKIGAI, you have found your mission, passion and a sense of meaning in your life.

Our theme for this year’s TEDxNirmaUniversity – “What’s your IKIGAI?” also focuses to reiterate the same beliefs and values, through the vision of it’s speakers. Our speakers have stories to tell, that reflect their mission and passion for what they are doing, and their reason for waking up and looking forward to a new day and new beginning. They will add to each other’s strengths and create a clearinghouse of ideas that will bolster their IKIGAI, but more importantly, by the end of the day, help you answer- “What’s Your IKIGAI?”

Nirma University
Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway
Chandlodia, Gota
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 382481
India

Dr Terence Lewis

“If dance is your passion, then make it work for you and you will never have to work a single day in your life!” Terence Lewis is the first choreographer to introduce 'Contemporary Dance' to the Indian audiences at large, through the medium of television and Dance India Dance and thus, bringing great respectability to the dancing profession and the realization for the need of serious dance training in our country through Terence Lewis Contemporary Dance Company. This awesome choreographer is the first ever Indian to receive the 'Dance Web Europe' scholarship at the Impulstanz, one of the largest international dance festivals in the world. His choreography for the iconic movies 'Lagaan', 'Jhankaar Beats', 'Goliyon ki Raasleela- Ram-Leela' has won him worldwide fame and many accolades. He holds the Guinness World Record for choreographing 1336 people together in a song, the highest number of people choreographed on a single stage. A choreographer by profession, he has also worked as a fitness trainer for Bollywood actors like Madhuri Dixit, Amisha Patel, Antara Mali, Malaika Arora amongst others.

Giri Balasubramaniam

CEO, Greycaps aka “Pickbrain”

Well known author and a prolific speaker. An alumnus of Harvard Business School and a Master of Gandhian Philosophy. He is the CEO of Greycaps - one of Asia's largest knowledge service company. Seen every weekend on national television channels in India hosting quiz shows, he is also the mind behind the Global Awareness Program (GAP) one of India’s first focused, structured knowledge enhancement programs for school children. Pickbrain is amongst the most popular 'Quizzers' of the nation- with over 2000 shows in 9 countries. A winner of several awards at the state and national level, he was nominated to the Lead India Initiative as one of India’s potential future leaders. He has seven Limca Records to his credit and his work has been appreciated by none less than people like Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam, Dr.Raghuram Rajan, Mr.Narayana Murthy, Edward De Bono just to name a few.

Gulzar Azad

Country head at Connectivity, Google India and Internet & Telecom Veteran

One such big decision was taken by Gulzar Azad in 2006 when he joined Google Indiaas the founding member of the business team launching the first set of Mobile Product partnerships for Search, Ads, YouTube, Android in India and APAC. Having the vision of do betterment of society, In 2013, he began working on Railways WiFi, a partnership initiative between Google and Indian Railways to bring high-speed Internet access to 100's of millions of people visiting train stations across 400 cities and towns in India. His initiative with the Indian government on Railways WiFi was instrumental in the Google Station product being extended to other parts of the world including Mexico, Indonesia and Nigeria. More recently, Gulzar established the first carrier partnership for Google's next generation data (4G/5G) packet core platform and led the launch of Google's first Smart City connectivity project in India.

Jawed Habib

Founder, Jawed Habib Hair & Beauty Limited

“It takes dedication to learn an art, But it takes wisdom to master it.” An artist of his own kind, Jawed Habib, the founder of Jawed Habib Hair and Beauty Limited brought to life a profession too uncommon amongst all. Jawed Habib went a famous hair dressing school in London where he picked up the art of systematic approach to their hair profession. Over the last 25 years, he has made his mark in the field of hair styling and as of today he is the signature hair icon on India. His concept of hairstyling is a perfect amalgam of Indian and western styles. He has set up numerous salons and academies in India and abroad and has established prime brands in the hair and beauty industry. He is a firm believer that education can change any profession. He is influential in adding an education element to the hair styling profession in India and serves as an example by focusing on perfecting his skills and continuously learning every day.

Jeet Trivedi

6 World Records Holder (Blindfold Category)

One such ripple was started by Jeet Trivedi in 2016 at the age of 17 years. With the aim to be the pathfinder for differently abled people, "The India's Blindfolded Wonder Boy" holds 6 world records in blindfold category in Golden Book of World Records, United Kingdom; World record of India; India book of records; Incredible books of records; Universal Record Forum; World Records- India. Jeet Trivedi is also a gold medalist in Diploma in Automobile Engineering. He is a keen chess player and debater with more than 125 felicitations in various fields.

Mohit Patel

Founder and Director of The Northstar School, Educator

Mohit Patel is one of the very few people who live by this virtue. He is an educator, engineer and entrepreneur who strives to create engaging and insightful learning experiences. He designs and executes learning experiences for teachers and students based on learning theories and cognitive neuroscience. During his studies at Harvard University he was immersed in decades of research showing that the way we have traditionally run schools conflicts with how people learn, and he became convinced that we need to change our approach to education if we hope for students to thrive both personally and professionally in the 21st century. With an aim to eradicate Global learning crisis in his heart and years of experience backing him, he founded the NORTHSTAR SCHOOL where learning is fun, meaningful and relevant to students' lives.

Nikita Singh

Writer of best selling novels

"Nights are often dark but the brightness in her lightens up her world". Nikita Singh is the bestselling author of eleven novels, including 'Letters to My Ex', 'Every Time It Rains' and 'Like a Love Song'. She is also the editor of the collections of short stories '25 Strokes of Kindness' and 'The Turning Point'. "Someone Like You", a book she co-wrote with Durjoy Datta debuted at No. 5 at Hindustan Times Bestseller list. The prolific, passionate and hard working writer was just 19 when her first book, "Love @ Facebook" was published and by the age of 25, she was an author to more than 10 books. She got her MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) at The New School in New York. The honors and accolades just keep on increasing as the years roll for the stunning writer. Nikita is a digital nomad, currently obsessed with travel, tea and thrillers. Invested in the fight against climate change, she handles marketing for a solar energy company based in Brooklyn.

P. N. Kapil

Faculty Advisor - SAE Baja, Nirma University & Winner of Dronacharya Award

P. N. Kapil is serving as an Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering Department Nirma University. He has guided many undergraduate level and postgraduate level student projects and also published technical papers in various forums. He has also been awarded with “Best Paper Award” in one of the international conference. Apart from academics, Kapil has also been mentor or advisor to student activities like IDEA labs and BAJA SAE at the university. As faculty advisor or mentor of “Team Stallions”, SAE Collegiate Club, Nirma University during BAJA SAE INDIA 2018 at Pithampur, Indore, he was awarded with “Dronacharya Award” for his role as best faculty mentor in e-BAJA (Electric Vehicle) category. Kapil firmly believes that students can deliver their best when mentored in a proper way and the best way to do that is through collaborative and peer learning engagement. He believes that peer learning has no boundaries and as a part of his quest & journey as life-long learner.

Ramit Tandon

India's #2 Professional Squash Player

Ramit Tandon, India ranked #2 professional Squash player has been through challenges that changed his life in seconds but did not lose the fight of defeating the uncertain possibilities. A winner in himself, Ramit has won Asian Games Bronze Medal, 4 PSA World Tour Titles, Seattle Open Champion, Abu Dhabi Open Champion, Singapore Open Champion, SYS Open Champion, 6 Jr National Titles, Indian National Team Captain, Asian Junior Champion, World Cup u-21 silver medal, 4 times Columbia University MVP, Skillman Award Winner for Sportsmanship, Maniatty Award Winner- Best student athlete at Columbia University. A B.A. in Statistics from Columbia University in New York City( Class of 2015) and having worked as an Investment Analyst at Birch Grove Capital( a billion $ Hedge fund in NYC), his passion never left his side. With a stable career, his journey to achieve is calling brought him satisfaction.

Sanjay Raval

Motivational Speaker and Author

Sanjay Raval is a name taken in high regard, especially in the Gujarati community. A businessman by profession, he is widely regarded as one of the most prolific motivational speakers. He has more than 1200 seminars proudly nudged in his belt of honour, where he delivers original and real life insights, but with immense impact. They have been attended by more than 20 lac people, and have also received a billion hits on the social media. His books-"Now I Feel Better Than Before" and "I Like It You Also Like it" have sold more than a million copies nationwide. He believes that talent is validated by one's inner passion, creativity, acceptance and freedom, not by marks and percentages. He has a dream of creating a world class university, where students won't be judged basis their academic profile, but will get an opportunity to nourish their creativity, skills and talent, and be capable of standing on their own feet.

Terence Lewis

Choreographer, Dancer, Artistic Director, Founder of TLCDC and TLPTI

Terence Lewis is the first choreographer to introduce 'Contemporary Dance' to the Indian audiences at large, through the medium of television and Dance India Dance and thus, bringing a great respectability to the dancing profession and the realization for the need of serious dance training in our country through 'Terence Lewis Contemporary Dance Company'. This awesome choreographer is the first ever Indian to receive the 'Dance Web Europe' scholarship at the Impulstanz. His choreography for the iconic movies 'Lagaan', 'Jhankaar Beats', 'Goliyon ki Raasleela- Ram-Leela' has won him worldwide fame and many accolades. He holds the 'Guinness World Record' for choreographing 1336 people together in a song, the highest number of people choreographed on a single stage. A choreographer by profession, he has also worked as a fitness trainer for Bollywood actors like Madhuri Dixit, Amisha Patel, Antara Mali, Malaika Arora amongst others.

Vipul Redey

Head of School Engagement, Khan Academy

Vipul Redey is the Head- School Enablement at Khan Academy. An alumnus of Stanford University, he helps schools make the most of Khan Academy's online learning resources in their classrooms. He has also worked for Cisco, managing a large part of their multi dollar IT training and professional certifications portfolio. As a CXO at Global Discovery Schools and Director of Academics at Pearson Schools India, he has designed the daily classroom experience of thousands of students nationally. He is a multifaceted personality. He is an educator, writer, lover, fighter, saint, sinner, an ice-cream-holic and a "wannabe engine driver"-as his Twitter bio says. He is also a TED-Ed Innovative Educator and a TEDx Colombo speaker. Transforming the classroom learning experience and the education system from a race to resource is his IKIGAI.

Viren Barman

Mr. India 2016 (Runner up), Lifestyle & Fitness Coach,Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, Nutritionist, Model and Actor

Elegant, Exquisite and Enthralling : Viren Barman is Mr. India 2016 first runner up, Lifestyle and Fitness coach, Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, Nutritionist, Model and Actor. Having maintained a fit and fabulous physique through continuous hard work and devotion, Viren is a shining example for the youth. A motivator and an influencer, his pursuit lies in discovering ways to enhance human performance by combining modern science, the wisdom of our ancestors and experiential learning. He loves experimenting with both new and ancient techniques and believes that one can conquer new heights with great dedication and commitment. We are eager to let him unravel the secrets of his fitness regime and enrich us with his charisma.