Here We Give You The All-Inclusive Preview Of TEDxVIIT | 30th October

TEDxVIIT is a licensed TEDx community of Vishwakarma Institute of Information Technology, Pune. Since 2018, we have been hosting our TEDx event each year, with a hiatus in 2019, and have completed two editions with flying colors, one held live and the other in online mode. This year, with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still visible and by abiding the government regulations, we are bringing the third edition of TEDxVIIT in the online mode.

REDSHIFT is the phenomenon observed in which the wavelength of light decreases and shifts towards the color red as the electromagnetic radiation source moves away from the observer. This phenomenon proves the theory that the universe is expanding. We took inspiration from this and related it to our minds. We believe that our minds, our thoughts, our ideas are broadening and will continue to grow as long as we keep searching for more and more answers to our never-ending questions, strive for better and discover extraordinary things. Thus, to celebrate and promote the idea of reaching endless possibilities, we chose our theme for TEDxVIIT 2021: “REDSHIFT”

The preparations began with forming the team. Required domains of work were identified and accordingly, the team recruitment began. Ultimately, the team was formed with a total of 45 members led by Pradnya Mungi and assisted by Hritik Chalse and Kumar Manav, divided across the following domains:

• Event Production
• Event Management
• Operations
• Curation
• Communications, Marketing and Editorial (CME)
• Design
• Legal and Administration
• Technical
• Finance
• Sponsorship

 

With the team ready, the process was kicked off and the work was briefed to all the domains. The theme for the event was unanimously decided in further meetings and every domain started working accordingly.

The curation team began approaching all the probable speakers and also rolled out forms for other people to nominate themselves for speaking at the event. Out of the long list of personalities, 6 speakers were selected officially, whose ideas went along the theme. Along with that 2 performers agreed to join us in the journey. They also curated and proofread TEDx talk scripts of all the speakers.

The CME and Design team began creating content for the social media handles and planned out a social media calendar to engage the existing audience and increase the reach of the

profiles. All four social media handles were made active i.e. Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. A segment called quoTED was started, to highlight the speakers from the previous edition. The 3rd season of Tea with TEDx was hosted with three new student guests from our institute who have achieved significant milestones in their student careers. With each speaker being confirmed, they were revealed subsequently on these platforms. The CME team also began creating a marketing strategy to get a significant footfall for the event. Early bird tickets were rolled out at a discounted price for a limited period. Taking reference from the topics to be covered by the speaker, different target audiences were identified and were approached via mail and social media platforms.

The production, management, operations, technical and design team handled the work of deciding the flow of the event, the resources needed for the event, the platform for streaming the event, the recording of every speaker’s talk, anchoring recordings, planning the attendee kit items, the equipment needed for recording, planning the recording venues, rehearsals for the interaction session etc. It was ultimately decided that the event would be hosted privately for registered attendees on the PayTM Insider platform. The main event would be broadcasted on the platform with all the speaker talks and performance and compeering pre-recorded. This would be followed by a live interaction-cum-networking session with each of the guests on the Google Meet platform.

The legal and administration team ensured the event was conducted as per the rules and guidelines by the TEDx community and acted as a communication point for any legal and administrative issues for the team. They also handled the communication channels to be used by the team. Slack was the primary channel used for communication. They also ensured the proper management and workflow of the event preparations.

The finance and sponsorship domains planned out the finances for the event and estimated a ticket price for the event. They also communicated with the institute for financial aid. The institute cooperated with the team and assisted in the finances. A lot of sponsors were also approached with a well-defined portfolio and managed to acquire sponsorships from the following organizations: Campus Times, Pune, Feevin Media and PR House.

Besides the preparations, the operations team also put in efforts in arranging team bonding sessions so that the team members get to know each other and work more efficiently for the event.

Event Details:

• The event is scheduled for Saturday, October 30, 2021, from 6:00 pm
• The speaker lineup is comprised of 6 speakers and 2 performers.
• The event is planned to be an online event and will be streamed privately on the PayTM Insider streaming platform.

• The event duration is expected to be 2 – 3 hours, followed by an interaction/meet-and-greet session with each of our
• Each attendee will receive an attendee kit at their doorstep and a certificate of participation.
• The official registration price decided for the event is ₹350, with a few early bird tickets sold at a discounted price of ₹250.

 

Speaker Lineup:

The speaker lineup is comprised of personalities from diverse backgrounds, each fulfilling the TED criteria of encompassing technology, entertainment, and design. Some guests are here to speak about new, out-of-the-box ideas while others are here to raise awareness about some. Following is the list of speakers and performers:

1. Gaurav Baid: Founder and CPO of avataar.me, a 3D AI Company helping enterprises create an immersive pre-purchase product discovery experience for their customers, by replacing the traditional 2D Visuals with the 3D XR/AR experience, FMS Delhi
2. Sudhir Mehta: COVID19 Welfare Resourcer, Lead of Pune Platform for COVID19 Response, a serial entrepreneur and Chairman and MD of Pinnacle
3. Hena Mehta: Co-founder and CEO of Basis, a financial services platform designed especially for Indian Women, Wharton Business School and University of Pennsylvania alumni.
4. Kiran Sabnis: A pioneer in the field of UI/UX design and product design industry, founder of 2dot47 Consulting, and an alumnus of IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay.
5. Krish Ashok: Author of ‘Masala Lab – A Scientific Approach to Indian Cooking’ and a food science He is also a techie and an engineering professional, associated with TCS for the past 22 years.
6. Deepak Deshpande: Vice President and Head of HR Practices, Tata Business Excellence
7. Tanishka Bahl: A 16-year-old singer and musician who has an established follower base on A student of T-Series Stageworks Academy.
8. Navin Joshi ‘Navaa’: A wonderful poet, with his work featured on Rekhta, the leading platform for Urdu Poetry, and the founder of ‘Inshaad’, an organization to nurture and promote budding