YU to Hold TEDx Event in Late April

The Sy Syms School of Business will host a TEDx talk on April 26 in the Koch Auditorium on Beren Campus, the first since 2017.  

This year’s event will feature six speakers comprised of two students, two faculty members and two members of “the broader Yeshiva University community,” according to Jonah Loskove (SSSB ‘22), the Student Life Committee senior co-chair and an organizer of the event. The theme of this year's conference is “Jewish Values in Action,” and applicants were expected to complete their proposal with this theme in mind. Although the list of speakers is not yet finalized, it is expected to be released within the next two weeks. Transportation will be provided by the university for students on Wilf Campus. 

This year's conference is headed by Yeshiva College Student Council President Jonah Chill (YC ‘22), Sy Syms Student Council Beren President Abigail Lerman (SSSB ‘22)  and Loskove. 

TEDx is an event organized independently by groups, such as schools, businesses or neighborhoods and licensed by TED, a non-profit organization that aims to spread innovative ideas to global audiences through videos that present a “great idea in 18 minutes or less.”  TEDx events follow the same standards of regular TED conferences, which include the time limit for talks. 

Student speakers will be chosen from the application process shared with students on March 2, which required them to submit a 700-800 word written proposal or a two-three minute video proposal of their presentation that was due on March 11. Applicants were also required to explain their relevant background to the topic that they proposed to speak about. 

According to Loskove, the impetus behind this effort was to give students who have not had normal events because of COVID-19 and experienced an atypical campus experience a cool event to enjoy. It took over six months for YU to get a TED license and start preparing.

“This is a special opportunity," Loskove said. "It does not happen every year. [Students] should jump on the opportunity to come."  

Michael Strauss, associate dean of Sy Syms School of Business and the faculty advisor behind the event, is just as excited. “TEDx Yeshiva University will provide a unique opportunity for YU students, faculty, alumni, and members of the extended YU family to share their unique and innovative ideas with the student body, professors, administration, and alumni on a very exciting topic, Jewish Values in Action,” he said. “We are all looking forward to this very unique event.”

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Photo Caption: TEDxYeshiva flyer

Photo Credit: Yeshiva University