The inaugural TEDxUTAR was held at UTAR Sungai long Campus on 26 January 2019 and it saw about 100 participants in attendance. Themed ‘Critical Evolution’, the event saw a diverse group of speakers who shared and presented their views on how their respective fields and endeavours were shaped and changed over time.
Present at the event was UTAR Chancellor Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Prof Ir Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Department of Soft Skills Competency (DSSC) Head Fook Oi Yee, lecturers, students and public. TEDxUTAR was organised by a team of students and it was supported by advisors, namely Faculty of Creative Industries Department of Modern Languages Head Maxwell Sim Yik Seng and DSSC Assistant Lecturer Nur Farahin binti Bahari.
The one-day event presented a combination of 14 speakers from various backgrounds, ranging from coaching, journalism and big data to entrepreneurship, environmental issues with the aim to bring together bright minds to give talks on a wide range of subjects that are idea-focused as well as foster learning, inspirations and wonders. Themed ‘Critical Evolution’, the event covered all manners of topics such as rapid innovation in the burgeoning world of science and technology, social and political reforms to foster innovation as well as the need of spiritual and medical remedies aimed at alleviating the negative psychological impacts from the breakneck speed of modern life.
TEDxUTAR officially launched by (from left): Prof Ewe, Tun Ling and Tan
Prof Ewe said in his welcome speech, “Besides being an avenue of knowledge creation and awareness, the TEDxUTAR event is also an invaluable platform for the participants to explore industry networking as well as to share knowledge to enhance students’ understanding on the changes of global developments. UTAR believes in enhancing the quality of education to produce knowledgeable and forward-thinking graduates with values and ethics to face new frontiers. The university also encourages students to seek a deeper understanding of the world’s current situation and to apply learnt knowledge for the betterment of the society.” He added, “I hope the participants will take this opportunity to learn from the experts who have been in the respective industry for years and whose expertise will provide much guidance to especially the students. Do not let the learning end here today, I urge everyone to continuously seek new knowledge and adapt to the different economic and technological context to remain relevant in the current world.”
Clockwise: John-son Oei, Hasan Al-Akraa, Dato Tee Eng Ho and Queenie Tan presenting their talk
Speaking at TEDxUTAR were Fitness Model Alex Chee, Author and Coach Alfred Netto, Motivational Speaker Archana Vijai Kumar, Fave Co-founder Yeoh Chen Chow, Freelance Journalist and Photographer Chris Lau, Malaysian TV personality, Emcee and Actress Daphne Iking, Kerjaya Propspek (M) Sdn Bhd (KPSB) Founder Dato Tee Eng Ho, Stand-up Comedian Douglas Lim, Volunteer Network Hasan Al- Akraa, EPIC Collective Founder and Group CEO John-son Oei, Picha Project Founder Kim Lim, International Speaker, Author, CEO of International Company Queenie Tan and IT specialist, Entrepreneur Stan Lee.
Clockwise, from top right: Daphne Iking, Alex Chee, Alfred Netto, Chris Lau, Gurmit Singh and Douglas Lim giving insightful talks at the event
Clockwise: Yeoh Chen Chow, Archana Vijai Kumar, Stan Lee and Kim Lim presenting their ideas to the participants
During the closing ceremony, TEDxUTAR Organising Chairman Tan Sheng Yee said, “The event was worthwhile with invaluable experiences garnered by the members of the team. Despite the initial bumps and bruises, we hope that the TEDxUTAR chapter will continue to enrich the lives of the UTAR community as well as the surrounding areas in their future events.”
Sponsoring the event were Hartalega Sdn Bhd, Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd, Agensi Pekerjaan J&T Sdn Bhd, KVC Industrial Supplies Sb, Auto Global Parts Industries Giro, Rider Tech Sdn Bhd, The Alley, Lufter Sdn Bhd, Goh Lek Hai, Mary Kay Malaysia,Madam Clarae Tan and friends,Specs Crafters Optics Sdn Bhd and Hermo Sdn. Bhd.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a programme of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organised events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organised TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx programme, but individual TEDx events are self-organised.
Group photograph among the speakers, participants and TEDxUTAR committee members
Performance by TEDxUTAR committee, Goh Bing Hann
Lion Dance performance by UTAR Wushu Club
Chinese Diabolo Performance
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