TEDxCUNY will be hosting their 8th annual conference under the theme “FAST TRACK” in the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College of Criminal Justice on Friday, May 2nd.
“What a production like TEDxCUNY does is allow a day where students from all over CUNY can come together and learn more about different ideas, to meet students from different campuses, and foster togetherness,” said Emily Madray, a co-organizer at TEDxCUNY
The TEDxCUNY team aims to open their talks to a wider audience beyond CUNY students. “Since the conference is free for CUNY students, it’s the first audience we get. But, the conference is relevant to the broader public and wider audiences within CUNY,” said Saanavi Goyal, who co-organizes TEDxCUNY alongside Madray.
The organizers have been planning the conference for a year, holding meetings several times each month to prepare speakers, sponsors and swag bags.
“It is a team effort that often goes unnoticed,” said Goyal. Aside from faculty advisors, TEDxCUNY is almost entirely student-run, students from across CUNY have a say in many of the main decisions within production and organizing speakers.
Speakers interested in participating in TEDxCUNY may pitch their speech to the organizers on the TEDxCUNY website. The team also seeks out speakers to speak at the conferences. In order to maintain authenticity, speakers are not informed about the theme of the conference until they are selected. The TEDxCUNY team does this by ensuring that the theme is broad enough for speakers to easily stay within them while covering a variety of topics in different fields.
Based on the rapid pace of New York City, “this theme of ‘fast track’ is seeing how we can use speed as a superpower in a variety of different sectors and disciplines,” said Madray.
The majority of CUNY students are commuters and many are unaware of the numerous projects and opportunities the university has to offer. As a commuter university system with campuses situated all over New York City, CUNY does not offer the traditional college experience offered at other institutions.
“Sometimes, CUNY can be looked down upon as not being an institution that’s leading the way in a lot of different fields and sectors. What I believe that TEDxCUNY brings to the CUNY community is this ability to showcase how amazing CUNY can be worldwide,” said Madray.
Since 2013, TEDxCUNY has aired several conferences covering a variety of fields from technology, engineering, humanities, politics, to education. Past themes include “UNRAVEL” in 2024, “WHO WE ARE” in 2023, and “WHAT MATTERS NOW” in 2019.
In TEDxCUNY’s most recent production, a speech titled “Building AI like Biology,” by Hunter College chemistry professor Rein Ulijn, discusses leveraging the power of Artificial Intelligence and robotics to solve problems from renewable energy, biodegradable materials, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and more.
Another speech by TEDxCUNY from 2023 titled “Challenging the Stereotypes of Identity,” delivered by licensed clinician and counselor Kristina Gowin-Lora, explores identity by the traits assigned to them.
CUNY students can reserve their free TEDxCUNY 8th annual conference tickets on the TEDxCUNY 2025: FAST TRACK Eventbrite page. Tickets are also open to the general public.
