TMU students gain important skills for the future with TEDxTorontoMetU

As an international student, Shelina Somji, president of TEDxTorontoMetU, knows how daunting university in a new city can be. That’s why she wanted to be part of a team on campus that got to work together and support each other in personal growth. 

This month, Somji (Commerce `24) and the rest of her TEDxTorontoMetU student team did just that, pulling off another stellar TEDx event on campus. Her team saw the two-day event through from start to finish, including training the speakers and working to ensure the event met TED guidelines – a process that took nine months in total. 

“Building events like this in university allows students to be more engaged and to learn skills that will build the future leaders of tomorrow,” she says. “I can proudly say that I built a team full of ambitious, hardworking and empathetic leaders.”

Sharing the Unspoken

The team were meticulous about choosing and planning the theme and topics, keeping their student audience in mind throughout, says Somji. 

The organization team landed on the theme, An Open Letter - Sharing the Unspoken, because it encouraged vulnerability. “We chose this theme because it allows us to see vulnerability on stage, and it shows us how each and every experience we have in life is worth learning from,” says Somji. 

“The TEDxTorontoMetU curates a space for individuals to learn more about the realities and experiences of others. This space allows students to break out of their own boxes, invites us to delve deeper into understanding each other's journey, motives, and embracing diverse perspectives,” says Malika Anoud (Business Management `24), executive vice-president at TEDxTorontoMetU.

The topics were varied and included personal finance, climate activism, community engagement and mental health, all with an eye to giving students the chance to build skills that they can use in their professional lives.

Choosing and coaching the speakers

TED worked closely with the TMU team to choose topics that would fit under this year’s theme, An Open Letter: Sharing the Unspoken. “An Open Letter is a fearless invitation to share untold narratives and reveal unique perceptions, shedding light on concealed realities,” says Anoud. “The theme revolves around the central ideas of originality, truth, insight and growth.” The nine chosen speakers had topics relating closely to the theme and were of wide interest to the TMU student community.

“We reached out to speakers via Linkedin, email and Instagram,” says Somji. “This was a rigorous process. At the end we had over 70 applications and my team and I had to cut it down to nine TEDx speakers. We interviewed over 50 applicants.”

Choosing the speakers was only the first step, thereafter the team began their four-month-long coaching phase. The TED coaches were full-time undergraduate TMU students who supported each speaker in honing their speeches and ensured that they were adhering to the TED guidelines.

“TED coaching is one of the most unique ways to bring out creativity,” says Somji. “During the training session for the coaches, we talked about how we can create a unique structure for each speech, how to enhance public speaking skills and how each speaker can be fully themselves while sharing their story.”

The team received the most positive feedback for Mastering Your Mindset, hosted by the co-founders of Speakers Slam, Dan (Daniyal) Shaikh and Rina Rovinelli, which gave attendees the chance to build on their public speaking skills in a welcoming space where they were free to take risks and share their stories. 

A technical puzzle

Last year’s event was held in the ENG building, where the room had its own AV equipment, meaning that many of the technical considerations were already sorted. This year’s venue switch to the SLC meant the team had some additional challenges to consider, including sourcing their own equipment. “Working within the budget, we sourced all our equipment separately based on the type of equipment we needed, including camera, audio and lighting,” says Jaye Huynh (Media Production `25), director of photography and production lead at TEDxTorontoMetU. “We had to consider our needs and find equipment that met them, including minimum resolution, for two cameras so we could cut between shots for TED's Youtube.” 

To meet these requirements, the team had many technical aspects to consider, down to the way sound travelled around the room and how the sun was lighting people’s faces in each shot.

TEDxTorontoMetU, an inclusive and diverse chapter under the TEDx association and the Ted Rogers Students’ Society, is a fully student-run organization that furthers the TED mission of discovering “ideas worth spreading.”

The TEDxTorontoMetU organizational team would like to thank the TMU coaches who gave their time and energy to make the event the success that it was: Malika Anoud, Shirley Yee Fong, Kaavya Santhanakrishna, Alicia Gan, Esha Charles, Hadia Siqqiqui, Shankeerna Sasithakumar and Jaye Huynh.