Theme: THIS IS US

TEDxUniversityofEdinburgh is back in 2022 with its yearly flagship conference. This conference aims to bring together bright minds to give talks that are idea-focused and on a wide range of subjects, to foster learning, inspiration, to provoke conversations that matter.

From the outset of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has been both a disruptor and a test of Global solidarity. The divergent response to quell its impact on lives and livelihood has cast several doubts on scientific logic, increased inequality, and cause a notable divide within and between countries. However, the pandemic has redefined the way we live as humans and the constant phrase that COVID-19 is not the first pandemic and will not be the last has aroused a sense of urgency to think about the future. Therefore, we consider the need to tell the story of 'US' the human race. This involves the drive to protect our world against future disasters through our tools and stimulate the needed quest to develop more tools to save the globe from unforetold adversity.

Through the TEDx, we hope to discuss our possibility as humans to keep our world safe for the next millennium, reflecting on the role of technology for a new world and how to strengthen global solidarity during crisis that affront both economy and human health indifferently.

By inviting multidisciplinary speakers, young and old, diverse races, we aim to discuss our differences and chat about a new solution that will dissolve the future's local, regional, and global development barriers.

he University of Edinburgh Business School is the business school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
29 Buccleuch Pl, Edinburgh
Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, EH8 9JS
United Kingdom

Andrew Wear

Senior Public servant| Author | Non-Executive

Andrew Wear is a senior public servant living in Australia and the author of ‘Recovery’. He is a policy expert, author and speaker who is passionate about searching for policy solutions that work. He will be speaking under the theme Global Health Policy: The Next Pandemic.

Daniel Mullen

PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh

Daniel is a PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh and formally a project engineer for the Irish electricity utility. Daniel’s PhD focuses on carbon capture for Net Zero Hydrogen and Power production.

David Naylor

Musician

Before he had his brain injury David was a professional musician. He ran music groups at The Priory Hospital and was an outreach facilitator for The London School of Samba. He has started to teach drums again and is working with a professional editor to have his first book published this year.

David Young

Founder and Chief Executive Officer Shield Corporate Finance

A career in Mergers & Acquisition negotiations and lots of experience in overcoming disagreements. “I am well advanced with a TEDx talk on ‘Harnessing The Power of Disagreement’, to help people approach and respond to the growing number and intensity of disagreements with which we are all confronted these days”.

Ellen Seligman

Former Head of The Norwegian Opera Academy

As a former head of The Norwegian Opera Academy, a professional musician and an opera director, Ellen has experience in competitive work environments and finding her way as a female leader.

Francisca Mutapi

Professor in Global Health Infection and Immunity, co-Director of the Global Health Academy at the University of Edinburgh,

Francisca Mutapi was the first Black woman to be appointed professor at the University of Edinburgh in its 400-year history and the first Black African female professor appointed in Scotland. Her research has had an extraordinary impact on the policy and control of neglected tropical diseases. Her work has improved the diagnosis of lupus for those of African descent, contributed to Africa’s COVID-19 pandemic response.

Mark Agnew

Outdoor and Extreme sports editor for the South China Morning Post

Mark Agnew is the Outdoor & Extreme sports editor for the South China Morning Post. Mark is an experienced adventurer whose expeditions rowing through the Indonesian archipelago and running ultra-marathons in uninhabited corners of Asia. In 2021, Mark will be part of a team attempting to become the first people to row the Northwest Passage; the Arctic route that links the Atlantic and the Pacific.

Naomi Ekpoki

Sustainable Energy Systems Engineer, Peace Builder, and Social Entrepreneur

Completed a MSc in Sustainable Energy Systems at the University of Edinburgh School of Engineering as a Mastercard Foundation Scholar and holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Covenant University Nigeria. During her MSc, she founded a start-up called Omie Energy which centres on lowering the cost of renewable energy production – in particular solar energy – to provide more reliable and affordable access to green energy. Omie Energy aims to redesign photovoltaic (PV) cells and panels so as to deliver lower costs per produced kWh. She was highly commended in both the Fresh Ideas Competition run by the Scottish Institute for Enterprise and the Business ideas competition by Edinburgh Innovations.