Theme: Brave and Brilliant

The 2024 TEDxXJTLU Annual Conference will be held on November 30, 2024. The theme for this year’s conference will center around “Brave and Brilliant”, ten guest speakers with backgrounds in the humanities, education, science, film, medicine, art, artificial intelligent and urban planning are invited to share their ideas and insights on stage.

IAG28
IAG28, South Campus, XJTLU, Chongwen Road, SIP
Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123
China

Alan V Kaluev

Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Alan V. Kaluev graduated from Moscow State University in 1994 and received his PhD degree in Physiology from RUDN University in 2003 and PhD degree in Anatomy from Tampere University Medical School in 2005. He received his Doctor of Science degree in Physiology from St. Petersburg State University in 2021. Before joining Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in 2023, he was a visiting researcher at several UK universities, a postdoctoral fellow at NIH, Assistant Professor at Georgetown and Tulane Universities in USA, Chair Professor at Guangdong Ocean University, and Professor at Southwest University and St. Petersburg State University. His area of expertise is animal modeling of human brain disorders, translational neuroscience, and neuropsychopharmacology, utilizing both rodent and zebrafish assays. He has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications with over 26 000 citations, and has been consistently ranked among top 2% researchers globally.

Eng Gee Lim

Inaugural Dean of School of Advanced Technology; Executive Dean of Academy of AI, XJTLU Artificial Intelligence Innovation Alliance; Inaugural Director of AI University Research Centre; Professor of Department of Communications and Networking, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Professor LIM received the BEng (Hons) and PhD degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the UK. Prof. Lim worked for Andrew Ltd, a leading communications systems company in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2007.Since August 2007, Prof. Lim has been at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, where he was formally the head of EEE department and University Dean of Research and Graduate studies. Now, he is Inaugural School Dean of Advanced Technology, Executive Dean of Academy of AI, Inaugural director of AI University Research Centre and also professor in Department of Communications and Networking. Professor LIM is Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (SFHEA); Fellow of The Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET) and Chartered engineer (CEng); Fellow of Engineers Australia (FIEAust) and Chartered Engineer (CPeng) and Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (SMIEEE).

Jinglu Song

Associate Professor and Research Officer at the Department of Urban Planning and Design in Design School，Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Song Jinglu, BSc, MSc, PhD, FHEA, serves as the Associate Professor and Research Officer at the Department of Urban Planning and Design in Design School at XJTLU. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK, a Member of the Resilient City Professional Committee of Jiangsu Urban Planning Research Association and a Member of Suzhou Environmental Sanitation Professional Committee. She achieved her PhD degree from the Department of Geography and Resource Management in the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She has also been a research associate in Hong Kong University and Hong Kong Baptist University, as well as a visiting scholar in Princeton University. Her fields of expertise involve the geographic information systems, urban planning and sustainability science. Most currently, she is concerned more about urban resilience to natural disasters, heat health risks, climate change and adaptation.

Meng Du

Artist; Honorable Mention Award for The International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa (Kanazawa, Japan) in 2016; Saxe Emerging Artist Award at the 48th Glass Art Society Conference (Venice, Italy) in 2018

Graduated from the Visual Communication program of Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing (B.F.A.) in 2008 and the Glass and Glass Sculpture Program of Rochester Institute of Technology (M.F.A.) in 2013. Currently, she lives and works in Beijing. Her work has continued to be exhibited in China, Europe, and in the United States. Du Meng is interested in preserving memories and keeping a record of them so they do not fade over time. With a natural instinct to extract meaning from narrative, she also wants to show memories in decay, as a way of memorializing them and showing the process of their slow disappearance from our consciousness. She incorporates the drawings and found objects, which come from her personal life experience into the surface treatment and imaging techniques of glass. To represent the nostalgic feeling and memories of certain times and places that she does not want to let go of.

Minjing Ni

Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Director of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Deputy Director of the Chinese Association of Natural Science Museums

Ni Minjing serves as the chief editor for Shanghai's Science and Technology curriculum and the Oxford Natural Science textbook. He is the author of science education books, including The Evolution of Learning, Beyond Interest, and Independent Physics Experiments, and has published over 100 articles on education and science popularization, such as Diversity in Education as the Essence and Method for Cultivating Top Innovative Talent. His accolades include the Shanghai Gardener Award, Shanghai Distinguished Physics Teacher designation, National Model Worker in Education, and the "People’s Teacher Medal."

Rui Cao

Seasoned media professional; Host at Suzhou Traffic Radio

Cao Rui has dedicated himself to broadcasting since 2004. His radio and television programs span a range of genres, including entertainment, fashion, music, and the arts. Over the years, he and his work have received multiple national, provincial, and municipal awards, such as “Top 10 City Gold Host” and “Person of the Year” by China Broadcasting Network. His Blue Xiao Rui family culture brand was groundbreaking, combining radio with traditional culture, expanding the radio audience, and bringing new vitality and modern relevance to the medium.

Wenjuan Zhang

Documentary Director; Documentary Producer

Known for works such as Once Upon a Bite 4: Grain Planet, the 4K documentary Moving Hearts, and the series I Am the Founder and One Small Shop. Her films have been shortlisted at the Shanghai Magnolia International Film Festival. In 2019, she founded Suzhou Weijian Film & Television Culture Co., Ltd., specializing in documentary creation and full-cycle production. In 2024, she launched the media channel “FindU,” continuously pushing boundaries to unlock the commercial potential of documentaries. Through this platform, she has created a curated lifestyle space where the power of documentary storytelling connects and enhances diverse fields.

Xiaoting Xie

Director of the Suzhou Museum; Research curator specializing in cultural heritage; "333 High-Level Talent" in Jiangsu Province ; Chair of the China Museum Association's Youth Working Committee

Since 2012, she has participated in various national museum evaluations, including first, second, and third-class assessments, writing evaluation reports, and reviewing industry standards for the National Cultural Heritage Administration. She has led and contributed to award-winning exhibitions, including "Paying Homage to Hengshan: Special Exhibition on Wen Zhengming of the Wu School" "Masterpieces of Italian Renaissance Drawings from the British Museum," and "Pure Jiangnan: Skills and Memories of Suzhou in Suzhou Museum’s West Wing." Her published works include the monograph Curatorial Concepts, Practices, and Reflections, and she has authored over 20 papers. During her tenure, Suzhou Museum maintained its "Excellent" rating in the 2019-2021 National First-Class Museum operation assessment.

Xin Shu

Senior student majoring in Global Affairs and International Relations at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

He has a strong curiosity and passion for international affairs and has participated in various international youth communication programs and conferences, including the 5th China-ASEAN Youth Summit, the 4th China-America Student Conference (ChASC), and the 9th Tsinghua University Model Climate Change Negotiation. Currently, Shu Xin is leading a team to organize the 5th China-America Student Conference in China. In addition to being a practitioner in international relations, Shu Xin is also a mountain bike athlete. He has been part of the 24th National University Cycling Team and competed in the 2024 World University Championships Cycling in Costa Rica. Cycling has been an indispensable part of his life for the past decade, providing him with the energy, positive attitude, and a healthy body to move forward.

Ye Ji

Attending Physician at The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University; Popular Science Author on People's DoctorMember of the Chinese Association of Popular Science Writers;

Ji Ye is an ophthalmologist at The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and a member of the Chinese Association of Popular Science Writers. With over 20 years of clinical experience in diagnosing and treating various eye diseases, he has published numerous articles in core journals, with some cited in The Chinese Medicine Annual (Academic Volume). In 2020, he received the National Teacher Training Award for Resident Physicians and won third prize in Suzhou’s Health Science Works Competition. In 2023, he was recognized as a "Popular Science Author" in eye health by People’s Daily. His medical science book, Herbs: Growing in the Gentle Waves of Time (published by People's Medical Publishing House), was listed among the "2017 Outstanding Chinese Popular Science Books," selected as a key theme promotion project by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, and is held in the National Library of China.