TEDxUMiami speaker application opens

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After attending the TEDxCoconutGrove event for almost four years and learning new ideas that were all outside his management and political science double major, Adrian Nuñez decided it was time the University of Miami started hosting its own TEDx events.

For the first time in the school’s history, UM will be hosting a TEDx conference on Feb. 3, and the TEDxUMiami planning committee is on the search for one-of-a-kind, boundary-pushing ideas from across Miami to be presented at the event.

TED stands for technology, entertainment and design, but the platform serves as a way for innovators to spread ideas on any topic in the form of short talks. TEDx are independently-organized TED events, created to help communities foster the same growth and dialogue as at larger TED conferences.

The TEDxUMiami speaker application asks potential presenters, “What original ideas would you present to an audience?” and “How will your topic make waves at the University of Miami?”

The event theme, “Making Waves,” hints at the proximity of the university to the ocean, but also at how waves exemplify something positive and new, said Nuñez, co-executive director of TEDxUMiami.

“The metaphorical idea of making waves is where you are being innovative and trendsetting which is what TED tries to display with their different speakers. And the more literal sense of making waves is very relevant to us due to our geographical location,” Nuñez said.

After the application closes, a curation team will interview selected applicants. Then, from those few, the committee will choose 20 to 25 speakers for the event, said Monica Bustinza, TEDxUMiami curation director.

The speaker application on OrgSync is open to all students, staff, alumni and people in the greater Miami area. The application closes Oct. 24. For more information, visit facebook.com/TEDxUnivMiami.