Bring a Brown Bag Lunch to TEDxSMUTuesdays
TEDxSMUTuesdays are a weekly brown bag series held from January to May at the Skunkwork's Innovation Gym at Southern Methodist University.
Each week, a diverse group of attendees that includes students and Dallas community members, gather to view a TEDTalk and partake in lively discussion. This TEDx Salon event creates continuous dialogue around TED and TEDx beyond the yearly TEDxSMU, as well as creates a setting that sparks ideas and conversation.
Organizer Sharon Lyle says, "No one person is ever "the expert" on an particular talk, but by providing a forum for all these different people to come together over a common topic, we all seem to walk away better informed and with a broader knowledge base than had we watched the TEDTalk alone."
SMU faculty and administrators are also invited to serve as special guest curators -- they choose a favorite video to screen, as well as the theme.
One week, the Vice President of Student Affairs led a timely March discussion on busted brackets and John Wooden’s thoughts on true success.
The conversation doesn't end on Tuesdays -- a fter each event the TEDxSMU blog is updated with relevant and informational links to books, articles and other TEDTalks.
Says Natalie Stalmach, TEDxSMU Co Organizer, "When we started the series, I thought our basis in the engineering school would lead to highly technical talks followed by highly technical discussions. However, our audience is diverse and represents a variety of fields, from science and engineering to arts, communication, and education. This diversity brings unique perspectives to each discussion. In fact, some of the highly technical talks have led to our most interesting conversations. What are the ethical implications of this technology? Does our current educational system support or even encourage the innovative thinking necessary for scientific breakthroughs?"
