Seven weeks till the TEDxIIT event and we have finalized our speakers! What kind of speakers are we expecting? These speakers comprise IIT students, faculty members, trustees and alumni. We also have non-affiliated IIT speakers who are world renowned architects, engineers and entrepreneurs. These speakers express their ideas in the areas of design, entertainment, technology, renewable energy, diversity, interdisciplinary and entrepreneurship education, eco-architectural design, social development, music and even food! This year’s speakers may be speaking about global topics such as poverty and unemployment as well as personal issues such as building self-esteem and leadership.

How did we vote for these speakers? Students who nominated them gave a three-minute presentation explaining why they should be nominated and how their idea is exponential. Then, each one of us read aloud their ideas and accomplishments to the rest of the team. After crucial examining and analyzing, the whole TEDxIIT team narrowed it down to twelve competitive speakers from twenty-four nominated speakers.

Why is the selection process for the speakers so competitive? TED.com explains why. “TED is ‘the place’ to give the talk of your life. TED is the place to condense your ideas into a compelling 18-minute talk that communicates your best ideas.” Other TED talks from around the world have included former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, designer Phillipe Starck, architect Frank Gehry, primatologist Jane Goodall, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, , Lost producer JJ Abrams, architect and sculptor Maya Lin, cellist Yo Yo Ma and Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Wait, there’s more! The license for our TEDxIIT event has been approved! How important is the approval of a license? Since 2009, TED has been granting licenses to third parties so that these parties can organize independent TEDx events all over the world. More than 16,000 talks have been given at more than 5,000 TEDx events in 1,200 cities in 133 countries by the end of 2012.

So with the TEDxIIT license approved and our speakers finalized, we’re all set to start promoting this event!

Want to know who the speakers are? You’ll have to wait in suspense until the TEDxIIT event on Saturday, April 13, 2013. But be prepared to be utterly speechless!

Visit the TEDxIIT site to find out more and follow TEDxIIT on Facebook!