In 2015 we decided to go back to the basics: good speakers, accessible ticket price and a day full of learning.

We scrapped any theme, so as to not restrain our choice of speaker; we collaborated with sponsors within and outside St Andrews who had a tangible link to what we do, what our university is, and what are goals are - so as to create a mutually beneficial relationship; we collaborated with the university so as to give ourselves greater legitimacy; we found speakers whose talks related to the issues of today.

Old Course Hotel
St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9SP
United Kingdom

Agnes Török

Agnes Török is an award-winning spoken word poet as well as a poetry event organiser, poetry workshop leader and member of spoken word collective Loud Poets. Török also studies Social Anthropology, and is doing research for a dissertation on the Anthropology of Happiness. You can read more about her work on www.agnestorok.org

Darshita Gillies

Darshita Gillies has journeyed, in her words, “from the bottom 1%, to the top 1%, for the whole 100%.” She co-founded and operates Blu-dot.org worldwide as Global system integrator and also strategic consultant to entrepreneurs, leaders, coaches, consultants, & multinationals to address complex challenges of our times in a more systemic way.

David Low

David is a Technical Manager of Mobile Applications at Skyscanner.

David Lowe

David is a Technical Manager of Mobile Applications at Skyscanner.

Erling Kagge

Erling is one of the greatest adventurers of our time and has for the past 25 years been setting new standards in exploration. He was the first person to surmount the "three poles" - North, South and the summit of Mount Everest. He was also the first to walk to the South Pole alone.

Jon Tonks

Originally from the West Midlands, he studied Design in Leeds for three years before turning to photography. Following a brief period as a staff photographer for a newspaper network in the Midlands, Jon left to study for an MA in Photojournalism & Documentary Photography at the London College of Communication. Since 2007, he has been undertaking commissions and working on a long term personal project voyaging to remote British Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic Ocean. This work has culminated to form his first monograph ‘Empire’, nominated by Martin Parr as one his best books of 2013. Jon’s work has appeared in The Sunday Times Magazine, PDN, Guardian Weekend Magazine, British Journal of Photography, Financial Times Magazine, Monocle, Saturday Telegraph Magazine, Source and TIME lightbox.

Roger Cohen

Roger Cohen is a journalist and author. He is a columnist for The New York Times and International Herald Tribune. He has worked as a foreign correspondent in fifteen different countries.

Simone Barillari

Tess Serranti

Tess Serranti is an Italian businesswoman. She is currently the President of Africa Continental Holdings and specialises in marketing strategies for multinational operations.

Zeynep Dereli

Zeynep Dereli, managing director of APCO Worldwide’s Istanbul office, is an accomplished and respected leader in Turkish business, media and politics.