Earlier this month the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) hosted their second annual TED event on campus, open to students and community members alike. Topics varied immensely from immigration to repercussions of failed STEM students. Per standard procedure, the TEDxIIT talks were available via live streaming to online viewers interested in consuming content real-time. The category lineup was incredibly fluid delivering content that upheld TED’s commitment to ideas worth sharing.
The program was structured as a full day of content, with live speakers, networking breaks, and periodic TED videos which succinctly kept the TED overtones strong. Speakers we’re predominantly IIT based (active students, professors, or alums) which indirectly left a twinge of commercialism to it all, however all in all: the energy, quality of content, and the thought provoking ideas are what I wrote home about. View the speaker lineup and background information from TEDxIIT 2012 here.
As a community member (and not an alum), I had an opportunity to also tour the IIT Idea Shop and was genuinely impressed with the resources that IIT, and respective community members have at their disposal. The IIT Idea Shop serves as a 13,000 square foot facility with office co-sharing, teaming areas, meeting space, on-demand prototyping supplies and equipment where users can frankly: make their ideas reality. It was hard not to leave campus thoroughly impressed with my one day stint on campus; very excited to see the advancements IIT is set to contribute to the excitingly emerging Chicago technology ecosphere. via ThinkingBlackGirl.com
