Tickets now available for TEDx Auckland, a day of discussions around technology, entertainment and design, in the internationally-famous TED format

Come get inspired at one of the internationally-famous TEDx talks, little brother to the TED events that have been sparking ideas and innovation since 1984.

TEDxAuckland is bringing together some of New Zealand’s top scientists, artists, educators and technologists for a full day of stimulating talks, discussions and learning this October.

Event organiser Elliott Blade hopes this year’s event will be the beginning of an inspiring relationship between New Zealanders and the TEDx platform.

“It will be a great day of dynamite presentations from eighteen of New Zealand’s brightest. The event will present a diverse mix of speakers - both familiar names and emerging talent – that we hope will ignite some great conversation and encourage people to discover new ideas.”

Speakers include physicist, decathlete and political advisor Sean Gourley; change development specialist Paul Wood; physicist and pursuer of the Higgs boson ‘god particle’ David Krofcheck; materials and biomedical engineer Michelle Dickinson; internationally recognised architect Andrew Patterson; director of surgical research at Auckland Hospital and co-founder of medical start-up SIMTICs John Windsor; art director of Apropos  and founder of the 100 Days Project Emma Rogan; CEO of Arvus Group Matthew Simmons; and dental surgeon and founder of ICARE Assil Russell.

TEDxAuckland will take place on Saturday 6 October at the ASB Theatre in the Aotea Centre. Eighteen speakers are set to take part in the full day event which will run from 10.00am until 5.30pm. A complete speaker line up will be announced early next month.

Tickets are now available from The Edge for $70 + booking fees. For more information, click here.

First nine speakers:

Andrew Patterson
Andrew Patterson is the Design Director at Patterson Associates Ltd. and arguably New Zealand’s most internationally recognized and published architect. He is the designer of New Zealand’s only new build 6 Green Star rated project– Geyser, in Auckland, and his firm was named by World Architecture News as one of five architects worldwide “whose directional ideas are helping to shape the future of architecture”.

Assil Russell
Assil Russell is a dental surgeon and founder of ICARE, New Zealand's first and only registered medical and dental charity for Iraqi orphans and disadvantaged children. Born in Iraq and raised in New Zealand, Assil is a graduate of Otago University and founded ICARE at the age of 21 to empower people from all walks of life to make a difference in the lives of others.

Dr David Krofcheck
David Krofcheck is one of New Zealand’s leading physics researchers, with a particular focus on experimental high energy nuclear physics and environmental radiation. A senior lecturer at the University of Auckland, David is involved in a number of significant international experiments - including the search for the Higgs boson or ‘god’ particle.

Emma Rogan
Emma Rogan is a partner at Auckland design company Apropos and founder of New Zealand’s 100 Days Project. Her work has been awarded and recognised by the NZ Best Awards, Communication Arts, The Webby Awards and Adobe.

John Windsor
Professor John Windsor is a surgeon who holds a personal chair in surgery at the University of Auckland. He is also the co-founder and a director of the start-up SIMTICS Ltd that has developed the ‘Integrated Cognitive Simulator’ for procedural and surgical skills training. Over the last 5 years John has published 80 manuscripts, raised $6m in grants and given over 100 invited talks to audiences in places such as Harvard, Oxford, Capetown, Delhi, Karolinska and Singapore,

Matthew Simmons
Matthew Simmons is the CEO of Arvus Group International and currently part of the NZ Clean Energy Centre’s Enterprise Great Lake Taupo (EGLT) team. Matthew’s company, Arvus, is an external source of R&D and innovation worldwide, and has been involved in successful innovations in the fields of Digital Cinema, Loudspeaker design, Acoustics, Optics and Viticulture.

Dr. Michelle Dickinson
Michelle is a specialist in nanotechnology and head of New Zealand’s only Nanomechanical Testing Laboratory. A senior lecturer in Biomedical Materials Engineering at the University of Auckland, Michelle’s in-depth knowledge of nanotechnology has helped develop cutting edge technologies for both the high-tech and medical industries.

Dr Paul Wood
Paul Wood is a change specialist and founder of Switch Coaching & Consulting. He specializes in industrial, organisational and workplace psychology and acquired his academic degrees in Psychology and Philosophy while in prison serving a sentence for manslaughter. Through his knowledge and personal experience, Paul assists individuals and organisations achieve sustainable change.