Best position? On Albertopolis

TEDxImperialCollege was a must see event. It had so much on offer (you even got your own lanyard) and must have hit home with the audience: it was trending on Twitter. Considering it contained absolutely zero Justin Bieber performances, that’s pretty special. Former Felix Editor/physics student Kadhim Shubber kindly took some time out to answer some questions. He is co-organising possibly one of the largest ever TEDx events, right on our doorsteps at the Royal Albert Hall. The team organising TEDxAlbertopolis is almost entirely made up of Imperial alumni, and Kadhim described them as “a dream. The most intelligent, interesting and effective people you could hope to work with.”

Tim Arbabzadah: You organised TEDxImperial College, what made you want to organise another TEDx event?

Kadhim Shubber: We had far more people who wanted to attend TEDxImperialCollege than we could accommodate. There was such a huge demand in this community for another TEDx event and we felt that there was more to say, and more stories to explore in this area.

TA: If there were anything you could have done differently at the last event, what would it have been?

KS: When you organise an event, you are in a unique position to see all the niggles and flaws. There are lots of things that I thought could have been a little bit better, but on the whole I think it was a great event that people enjoyed and I wouldn’t want to point to one thing or another.

TA: The Royal Albert Hall is the venue, how did that idea come about?

KS: The Royal Albert Hall is Albertopolis’ auditorium. Its full name is the “Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences”, making it the perfect place to explore the Arts, Sciences and their role in modern society. We are incredibly lucky to be able to organise TEDxAlbertopolis at the Royal Albert Hall.

TA: Is this the biggest ever TEDx event?

KS: I don’t know, but I haven’t heard of any that are bigger. TEDx events are about spreading ideas and connecting people. The size isn’t hugely important.

TA: It’s TEDxAlbertopolis. What is Albertopolis?

KS: Albertopolis is the informal name for the area from the Royal Albert Hall down to South Kensington station, including all the museums and other institutions in this neighbourhood. It’s basically a Victorian “Tech City”, founded on the profits of The Great Exhibition of 1851 as a place where scientific innovation and creative design work hand in hand.

TA: What is the theme of this year’s event?

KS: We aren’t giving away the theme just yet, butit’s no secret that we’ll focus on the place how art and science fit together in the modern world.

TA: Are there any big name speakers we will get to see?

KS: We’ve chosen all of our speakers because we think they have a really interesting perspective to share and a compelling story to tell. We’ve got many more to announce, but we’ve already announced Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer for England and Emeritus Professor at Imperial; David Braben FREng, CEO of the Frontier Developments and a cofounder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation; Nicholas McCarthy, the first one-handed pianist graduate from the Royal College of Music; and John Halpern, cryptic crossword setter for the Guardian, The Times, The Financial Times and The Telegraph.

TA: Who would be your dream speaker to invite?

KS: I feel incredibly privileged to be working with the speakers we’ve already been able to announce. I think this is pretty much a dream line-up. (I hope you agree!)

A Great Exhibition

With all the attention focusing on the Royal Albert Hall’s starring role in TEDxAlbertopolis, it’s worth returning to the humble beginnings leading up to this event. Held on the 24th of March in the distinct environs of the Great Hall, TEDxImperialCollege invited a range of speakers to deliver lectures on the theme of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Topics of the day included instant spray-on fabric and a project to resurrect the world’s first modern computer, with the subjects proving wholly memorable – for the world and not just for those attending with some of these talks reaching thousands via the modern day magic of YouTube.

I was lucky enough to be seated on the reputable Social Media Sofa at the back of the auditorium, providing just about the best view of the action going on below. Live blogging proved a just about surmountable challenge, with the sheer number of eminently quotable ideas and concepts from eminently quotable individuals arriving like a swarm of commuters at a busy station, clashing at the ticket barrier of my live update system.

I’m under the distinct impression that even more can be expected from the upcoming event at the Royal Albert Hall. And though obviously things won’t be the same without the Social Media Sofa in the back, I’m sure that the range of speakers and incredible location will lead this to be an event that will inspire an incredible amount of attention; not least plenty of trending on Twitter.

– Matt Colvin

TEDxAlbertopolis is on the 23rd September, tickets can be bought by going to royalalberthall.com. Find out more at TEDxAlbertopolis.com