University of Sydney back to support TEDx in 2019

For the eighth year running, the University of Sydney is partnering with TEDxSydney to help bring new ideas, creativity and innovation to the stage.

This year, the talks platform will celebrate TEDxSydney's 10th anniversary, with University of Sydney alumni amongst the 2019 line-up.

University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr Michael Spence said the University was pleased to continue its long-standing partnership with the ideas platform.

“As a world-leading university we are driven by the view that finding solutions to our biggest problems starts with changing how we look at them. TEDx shares this vision and provides a platform for people to share big ideas and encourages them to think differently.”

Since it began in 2010, TEDx Sydney has featured a number of speakers from across the University of Sydney and its wider community.

Last year, Professor Nicole Gurran from the School of Architecture, Design and Planning took to the stage to discuss why wealthy nations such as Australia face crisis levels of housing inequality.

This year, artist and Sydney College of the Arts PhD student Sara Morawetz will speak, as will University of Sydney alumnus Monkol Lek, now Assistant Professor of Genetics at Yale University.

Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in his 20s, Monkol Lek decided to study his own disease, going on to complete his PhD in human genetics at the University of Sydney at Westmead.

From his humble beginnings in Blacktown, growing up as a Cambodian refugee, Monkol now leads one of the leading genetics labs in the world.

"I'm looking forward to an amazing opportunity to share the journey that every rare disease patient goes on trying to understand their disease," said Monkol on his upcoming TEDx appearance.

In addition to speaking at TEDxSydney, the University of Sydney is pleased to welcome Monkol on campus for an exclusive Sydney Ideas event on his extraordinary journey and potentially game-changing research.

Monkol said sharing his history was extremely important for raising awareness.

“Many people living with muscular dystrophy are not in the public eye often and it's said to be out of sight, out of mind.

“I want to be an advocate for making others aware of the challenges that people living with muscular dystrophy and other physical disabilities face each day, so it can lead to a positive change,” said Monkol.

The Sydney Ideas event will be held on Monday 20 May at 6pm in the University's MacLaurin Hall, with online registrations essential.

TEDxSydney 2019 will be held on Friday 24 May at the ICC Sydney Theatre.

The theme this year is legacy. What have we been left with? What are we doing with what we’ve been left with? What will we leave behind?

Other past University of Sydney TEDx speakers have included Professor Michael Biercuk from Sydney Nano Institute, Professor Bill Pritchard from the School of Geosciences, Professor Ron McCallum from Sydney Law School and Professor Richard Banati from the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Top Image: Alumnus Eddie Woo speaks during TEDxSydney at Sydney International Convention Centre on June 15, 2018. Credit: Alicia Fox/TEDxSydney