Following a successful 2021 TED education event, a new edition of the series of talks will take place at the Forum Geesseknäppchen. The theme for this year is --a spin on the TED acronym (technology, entertainment and design). Tying in technology in the topics comes after an accelerated reliance among students in digital devices over the last few years due to the pandemic but also specifically to Luxembourg.

“When we were discussing the different types of things we wanted to talk about it was almost a given that technology was something that is really a big issue in Luxemburg,” says Dirk Daenen one of the event’s organisers.

Last year’s event was preceded by an idea competition that would see a selected few students take part in the TEDx event. The design element was added this year to make a push for new ideas in a different form. Dean Kauffmann, CEO of 3dPrint.lu and winner of the Luxembourg design awards and the James Dyson award, will be one of the speakers of the event.

“He understands completely that he owes his success to the school that he went to. He was following the classic education system. And then at one point, he decided to go to a different system [Lycée des Arts et Métiers] and as soon as he arrived there he felt at home,” says Daenen.

This year’s event, as was the case in the past, will give an opportunity to students to present their side of the story. Teenager Aurelia Wells who has written a poem about education will be one of the speakers as well as Krzesimir Hyżyk who at the age of 17 can already boast about having invented a programming language. A jazz band from the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg will also feature on stage.

“The thing that TED always tries to promote in an education event is that all the stakeholders are present,” says Daenen. “Arguably, the students are probably the most important parts of a discussion of education. So we always we always want to reflect the ideas of students.”