Students invited to join new TEDxFIU club

FIU students have come together to form a new TEDxFIU club open for all students to be involved with university’s annual event of sharing big ideas with a worldwide audience.

The next meeting of TEDxFIU Club is Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 3 p.m. in PC 100. Students can also join the club’s new Facebook page.

Founding club member Dalny Ruel said TED talks have always inspired her. The club will be a place where more students can take part in that experience. “It’s very personal. It’s real. They motivate me to want to do more and change the world.”

The new club is housed in the Communication Arts Studio, one of the partners to TEDxFIU, and is open to all students of any major. Members will focus on preparing students interested in giving a talk this year or in future years.

This year’s TEDxFIU is Nov. 7 at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center. Students still have the opportunity to submit an application to give a talk. The deadline to apply is Friday, Sept. 13. Students are welcome to record the video needed for the application in the Communication Arts Studio at VH 230.

At 2012 TEDxFIU, mechanical engineering student Ximena Prugue delivered a talk about her non-profit – Giving the Green Light to India.

Club members are also exploring the possibility of hosting a live simulcast of TEDxFIU at FIU’s Miami Beach Urban Studios on Lincoln Road. The simulcast would be free and open to the public.

TEDxFIU organizer Eduardo Merille said through the new club, students can connect with the worldwide TED movement by watching talks together and fundraising to send members to TED Global events around the world.

“Obviously we have an event, but TED is a year round thing so we want to get students involved,” he said. “There’s a lot of opportunities beyond the event that FIU puts on.”