IIM Udaipur hosted its first TEDx on 14^th March 2015 at the institute’s campus in MLS University. The event saw seven highly inspirational talks by eight diverse speakers that came from both Udaipur as well as across the nation.

TEDxIIMUdaipur was an independently organized event organized by the Media and Industry Interaction Cell (MiiC) of IIM Udaipur under a license received from TED. The umbrella theme for TEDxIIMUdaipur- 2015 was the ‘Smallest of Things’. It was a testimony of how small things in life can actually be the foundation for great inventions and discoveries.

The run-up to the event saw numerous online competitions been held, with students from across the country participating in the same. The first talk for the day, titled ‘The One Dog Who Saved Thousands of Lives’ was by Erika Abrams, the Founder of Animal Aid Unlimited in Udaipur.

The next speaker for the day was Joshua Fernandes who talked about ‘The future of Human Computer Interactions’. The talks were followed by a TED video by Dan Ariely titled ‘Are we in control of our Decisions’?

The second session for the day began with a highly motivating talk by Bhakti Sharma – an Udaipur local and an open water swimmer on the topic ‘From desert to Antarctica- a swimmer’s journey and lessons learnt’.

This was followed by another highly fascinating talk by world renowned Bharat Natyam veteran Rama Vaidyanathan which was titled ‘Feel the Big’.

The two talks of the second session were proceeded by two video- the first being ‘Orchestra in my mouth’ by Tom Thum which comprised of a very interesting beat boxing performance. The second video was ‘Overcoming Hopelesness’ by Nick Vujicic in which Vujicic discussed how he overcame his physical shortcomings to go ahead and make a mark in the world.

The final session of the day began with an inspiring talk by Rajesh Kumar, a shopkeeper from West Delhi whose simple initiative has made a difference in the lives of numerous people.

The last talk for the day was by American photographer Waswo X Waswo along with his Indian colleague Rajesh Soni, a hand colorist of digital prints residing in Udaipur. The duos talk was centered on the topic ‘The Credits of Collaboration: Questioning the Solo Genius Myth’.

TEDxIIMUdaipur 2015 was a grand success with the attendees enthusiastically looking forward to another edition next year.