Talks on topics ranging from the future of antibiotics to sex education in schools and delivered at Staffordshire University’s TEDx event are now live on a global platform.
The second TEDxStaffordshireUniversity event, held at the organisation’s Stoke-on-Trent campus, featured the likes of British middleweight champion boxer Nathan Heaney, award-winning playwright Deborah McAndrew and North Staffordshire-based sculptor Andy Edwards giving talks aligned to the theme “Back to the Future”.
Also taking their place in the spotlight were co-founder of Affordable Food Stoke Nikki Barrett and foodie entrepreneur Cris Cohen of FEASTED, both passionate about effecting positive change in the area.
Two Staffordshire University Professors Catherine Flick and Claire Gwinnett and graduates Genelle Aldred and Sharanya Ranganatha Urs were also selected by a panel to deliver talks at the prestigious event in May.
And Advanced Specialist Pharmacist Patryk Majewski completed the line-up talking about how pharmaceutical companies are looking back at what we already know to produce new antibiotics for the future.
The filmed talks by all ten participants have now been posted on the TEDx YouTube channel and are already attracting thousands of views.
Sharanya, a 24-year-old Staffordshire University journalism graduate from India, talked about how her experience as an international student has exposed the disparities between sex education in her homeland compared to the UK and insists that it is time to break down those awkward barriers.
The video has so far attracted 21,000 views.
She said: “It was something that, growing up watching TEDx videos, I never thought I’d be part of. When I got selected, I wanted to stand out and I’ve always taken pride in talking about my culture.
“When I was on that stage with my friends in the audience it felt like I was on cloud 9, like I was queen of the world, and I’m so glad I took the opportunity. The number of views has been overwhelming which shows what an important topic sex education is and suggests there are a lot of people who feel the same. Hopefully it goes viral.”
The speakers were selected by a panel, chaired by Staffordshire University Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Professor Martin Jones.
He said: “This was a sensational second event and I’m delighted that we can now share these talks with a global audience. We are immensely proud of our speakers who, individually, all have ideas worth sharing and are helping to put our region on the map.
“We believe there is something for everyone in this latest series of talks and we hope that it inspires more people to give TEDx a try.”
The talks can be viewed here.
