Apeejay School, Noida hosts its first-ever TEDx edition

There was a quiet buzz on the campus of Apeejay School, Noida as students, parents, alumni and educators gathered for something the school had been preparing for over a year – its first-ever TEDx themed Future Forward: Remaining Humanity’s Next Chapter. With over 128 registrations, the audience reflected a healthy mix of generations and institutions, including audiences from Apeejay School, Faridabad, Apeejay Svran Global School, and Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park.

The experience began right at the entrance, where the school’s marching band led guests into the building, setting a ceremonial tone. Inside, the venue stood out in red and black décor, instantly signalling that this was not an ordinary school event.

Tradition Meets Purpose

The programme opened with a Green Welcome as Principal Dr Neha Sharma warmly received the distinguished guests. Next came the welcome dance by the students that brought together Kathak and Bharatnatyam, grounding the event in cultural grace before ideas took centre stage. The performance was followed by a warm address by the Principal, who acknowledged the long journey behind organising the event.

She shared that TEDx was not meant to be a one-day conversation. The theme Future Forward: Remaining Humanity’s Next Chapter would remain a continuing dialogue at the school, because conversations about the future cannot be postponed. As she powerfully summed it up, “The next chapter of humanity is not written by a few. It is authored by all of us.” A specially curated school video offered a glimpse into Apeejay School, Noida’s ethos, achievements and vision, followed by the official TEDx introduction video.

Ideas Begin to Flow

The speaker sessions opened with Dr Prakhyat Roop, Consultant Ophthalmologist at AIIMS New Delhi, who spoke about how affordable medical innovations from India are quietly reshaping global healthcare. Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted that access to science briefly became a privilege rather than a right, until India disrupted that imbalance.

“India not only vaccinated its population; it challenged the belief that the best science must always come from the West,” he said.

Moving beyond vaccines, Dr Roop highlighted India’s breakthroughs in CAR-T cell cancer therapy, once priced at nearly half a million dollars overseas and now available domestically at a fraction of the cost. What was once despair for families, he observed, has been transformed into hope through affordability. Drawing from his clinical practice, he added that India-made intraocular lenses today match — and often outperform, global alternatives in quality. “This is not cheaper healthcare,” he asserted. “This is redefining healthcare excellence.”

The focus then shifted to children and digital safety as Ms Sarita Jadav, National Programme Officer at UNESCO’s Regional Office for South Asia, took the stage. Beginning with a simple question — how many people in the room owned a smartphone — she immediately drew the audience into a sobering conversation.

She spoke about technology-facilitated violence, including cyberbullying, stalking, doxxing and online abuse, cautioning that girls and marginalised groups face disproportionate risks. “The same device that opens worlds of knowledge can also open worlds of harm,” she warned.

Citing global and South Asian data, Ms Jadav explained how online violence silences young voices, erodes trust and pushes learners away from digital spaces, costing societies future innovation and leadership. She also flagged the misuse of artificial intelligence, sharing real cases of image morphing and online exploitation involving minors.

“Protection is not enough,” she emphasised. “Children need empowerment, voice and agency.”

Bringing an economic lens to the conversation, Mr Mohammed Riaz, Founder and CEO of Xtracap Fintech India Pvt Ltd, reflected on India’s growth during Amrit Kaal and the role of entrepreneurship in nation-building. Tracing India’s journey from the ‘golden sparrow’ to a rising global economy, he observed that the country’s strength has always come from strategic advantage — once geographical, now digital.

Speaking on equitable growth, he stressed that becoming a global economic leader is not merely about scale, but about dignity and opportunity for 1.5 billion citizens. “Anything less than that,” he said, “is not Amrit Kaal.”

Highlighting India’s leadership in digital public infrastructure, he pointed to UPI as a quiet revolution that now accounts for nearly half of the world’s digital transactions. He urged the audience to imagine similar platform-led transformations across healthcare, education, governance and finance.

“Amrit Kaal is a responsibility,” he concluded, “and those in this room are not just observers of the future, but contributors to it.”

Using sport as a powerful metaphor, Mr Pijush R. Ghosh, corporate leader and author, introduced the concept of the ‘home match advantage’ — the psychological edge that allows teams to perform at their best.

Drawing insights from biology, leadership studies and workplace dynamics, he explained how small ‘delta changes’ in trust, mindset and environment can significantly impact performance. “Motivation is not a switch,” he said. “It is chemistry.”

He cautioned that fear, micromanagement and constant pressure push teams into an ‘away match’ mindset, while trust, clarity and appreciation create safety and confidence. Through examples from global sports and corporate leadership, he highlighted simple yet powerful practices — clear roles, respect for aspirations, celebrating small wins and creating environments where people feel valued.

Quoting Rabindranath Tagore, he reminded the audience that leadership begins within. “Your home,” he said, “is where you feel safe to give your best.”

He closed with a quiet call for balance, urging unity over competition and calm over fear. “It is not always important to win,” he reflected. “It is important to be at peace.”

A Pause, A Song, A Moment

A short tea and networking break allowed conversations to spill into corridors before the audience returned for a heartfelt musical performance of ‘Teri Mitti’, sung and played by students. The song brought a quiet stillness to the room, reminding everyone of the emotional core behind progress and purpose.

Youth, Theatre and the Digital Future

The second half of the day opened with Ms Sara Gupta, Founder of the Autism Theatre Initiative, who spoke about using theatre not as therapy, but as a tool for building confidence, communication and empathy.

Recounting an experience at an autism centre, she described witnessing a 25-year-old autistic man strike her father — not out of aggression, but distress. “He didn’t have the words to tell us that something was overwhelming him,” she explained. “So his body spoke instead.”

The moment, she said, exposed a gap not in behaviour, but in shared language. For many neurodivergent individuals, the challenge lies not in intelligence or creativity, but in expressing emotions in ways society understands.

Citing data that one in every 68 individuals in India falls on the autism spectrum, Ms Gupta highlighted how sensory overload and communication differences are often mislabelled as behavioural issues. Neurodivergence, she stressed, is not about being ‘odd’, but about how the brain processes information.

This understanding led her to theatre — not as performance, but as practice. “Theatre doesn’t correct behaviour,” she said. “It trains attention.”

Next, Mr Vishal Saklani, brand strategist and AI-led growth architect, challenged assumptions around digital visibility, emphasising that online success is about systems, not just marketing.

“Marketing is not the problem,” he stated. “The lack of systems is.”

Drawing from his experience with over 34,000 businesses, he explained how many entrepreneurs fail despite ads, reels and reach. Traffic, he argued, is meaningless without structure.

Breaking growth into three pillars — clarity, process and reputation — he noted that most businesses skip fundamentals: defining their audience, refining their language and articulating value. Comparing poorly designed businesses to overcrowded airports without signage, he said, “You can send all the traffic you want, but if the system isn’t built to handle it, everything collapses.”

Introducing the idea of ‘R-square’ — Reputation and Referral, he stressed that sustainable growth comes from increasing lifetime value, not constant acquisition. “It costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to retain one,” he pointed out.

One of the most closely followed talks came from Ms Yesha Singh, Head Girl of Apeejay School, Noida, who dismantled stereotypes around Gen Z with wit and clarity, beginning with a familiar phrase: “Ah, kids these days.”

Reminding the audience that even Socrates once criticised youth, she challenged the notion that digital immersion equals distraction. “Gen Z didn’t migrate to technology,” she said. “We were born into it.”

Sharing her leadership experience, she described a world of WhatsApp announcements, shared documents and responsibilities that extend beyond school hours. “Leadership today,” she observed, “is a 24/7 subscription.”

Reframing concerns around attention spans, she described podcasts, short videos and AI tools as adaptation rather than avoidance. “The future isn’t slow or fast,” she said. “It’s knowing when to switch between the two.”

She concluded with a powerful reminder that Gen Z is not a monolith — especially in India. “The question isn’t whether Gen Z is ready for the future,” she said. “It’s whether the future is ready for Gen Z.”

The session was followed by Mr Tathagata Chowdhury, theatre practitioner and educator, who reflected on storytelling, imagination and purpose.

“Think of a time when you felt really high… then scared… and then at peace,” he said, urging the audience to notice how emotions move through the body.

“We are living in times when emoticons are replacing emotions,” he remarked, clarifying that what followed was not a speech, but a sharing of lived experience.

Tracing his 25-year journey in English theatre in Kolkata, he spoke of rejection, financial hardship and resilience, driven by what he called the purpose of existence — the difference between surviving and prevailing.

Recounting a childhood dream of becoming school captain that never materialised, he reflected, “What I wanted to create as an impression eventually became my expression.”

The most stirring moment came when he spoke of his stage-four cancer diagnosis in 2019. Even during chemotherapy, he said, he knew he would return to the stage. “Out of 55 marathons, 15 were after chemotherapy,” he shared, crediting theatre and purpose for his resilience.

Introducing the idea of a personal ‘Gotham City’, he spoke of causes that anchor lives — for parents, teachers and creators alike. “For me, theatre became my Gotham City,” he said.

He concluded by urging the audience to claim agency over fate. “It is not what is written in my palm that shapes my future,” he said, “but what these hands are capable of doing.”

The speaker series concluded with Mr Himanshu Saxena, AI storyteller and SaaS specialist, who began with a simple frustration — forgetting emails.

After reading over 20 messages in 90 minutes, he realised none stayed with him. “That troubled me,” he admitted, before asking candidly, “Is AI making me dumb?”

Explaining how AI generates statistically probable, polished language, he noted, “That’s why everything once began with ‘exciting news’ — even when nothing exciting was happening.”

This sameness, he argued, erodes memory and identity. “Your brand is not your logo,” he said. “It’s how you speak, write and communicate.”

Referring to an unplanned AI ban in Italy, he explained how content briefly became more diverse and memorable, reinforcing the Von Restorff Effect — “We don’t remember what blends in. We remember what stands out.”

Citing MIT studies, he added that creators themselves remember less when AI does the thinking. “Retention is not an audience problem,” he asserted. “It’s the responsibility of the writer.”

Acknowledging AI’s utility but questioning its overuse, he concluded simply, “I’m done with using words that do not mean anything to me.”

The message was unmistakable — in a world where everything sounds perfect, authenticity is what endures.

One of the most memorable moments of the day came from Mr D. P. Singh, grandfather of Yesha Singh, whose spontaneous address struck an emotional chord. Comparing students to raw diamonds shaped by teachers, he expressed gratitude to the school for nurturing his granddaughter from early years to the confident speaker she is today.

Acknowledging the Team Behind the Stage

In her closing address, Dr Neha Sharma shifted attention to the teams working behind the scenes — students handling recordings, teachers, departments, support staff and administrators — reminding the audience that every successful idea rests on collective effort.

What the Audience Took Home

Sharing her excitement at being part of the platform, TEDx Speaker and Head Girl, Apeejay School, Noida Yesha Singh, emphasised, “This was one of my bucket-list dreams, and today that dream came true. Being the Head Girl of the school, gave me the opportunity and exposure to participate in this event, and I look forward to many more such milestones ahead as I continue to grow and live by our school’s motto.”

Ms Nitya Bhasin, Alumni (Batch of 2016), Apeejay School, Noida reflected on the ideas that resonated with her and said, “The moment that stayed with me the most was how the Head Girl spoke about Gen Z learning to navigate both the digital world and face-to-face interactions. Being digitally literate is not necessarily a disadvantage, in fact, I see it as a strong advantage for our generation.”

Currently working as a Corporate Sales Manager at Info-Edge, she added that returning to her alma mater made the experience even more meaningful.

Speaking about the intent behind hosting the event, Ms Shilpi Singh, TGT English, Apeejay School, Noida, and a member of the TEDx organising team, said, “At Apeejay, we believe in cultivating critical thinking, opinion and voice. It has always been our endeavour to nurture responsible, knowledgeable and empathetic global citizens. TEDx is a powerful platform to expose students to revolutionary ideas, ideas that can truly change the world, and that is the purpose behind this initiative.”

A Class 10 student from Apeejay School, Faridabad reflected, “The idea that stayed with me was the second-last speaker’s thought about shaping your future based on what you truly want. It made me reflect on my own goals, especially after some of them recently changed, and encouraged me to rediscover my direction.”

Expressing her appreciation as a parent, Dr Rohini Tikka, mother of Anika Tikka (Class 11), Apeejay School, Noida, said, “The theme covered a wide range of topics and perspectives. Each speaker was insightful in their own way, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Since this is the first time Apeejay has organised a TEDx event, I wish the team all the very best and look forward to many more such editions.”

Ms Shreya Chattopadhyay, PGT English, Apeejay School, Noida, shared, “The journey enriched us as teachers as well, and we are delighted to offer our students this future-oriented exposure.”

As group photographs marked the close of the day, TEDx Apeejay School Noida ended not with final answers, but with lingering questions – exactly as it should. The conversations sparked on campus made one thing clear: the future is not something to wait for. It is something to talk about, question and shape – starting now.