TED-Ed Student Talks AUG 2025 Empowers Young Voices with Ideas Worth Spreading

Date: August 3, 2025

Location: Ishanya Auditorium, Symbiosis, Viman Nagar, Pune, India

Contact: Virendra Nirmalkar | +91 63 5995 5995

Pune, India — On August 3, 2025, Pune was witness to an inspiring wave of creativity, confidence, and community collaboration at the TED-Ed Student Talks 2025, hosted and mentored by Virendra Nirmalkar and Puja Talesara Bhandari. The event brought together over 80 participants, including student speakers, performers, guests, volunteers, and partners, for a full-day celebration of "Ideas Worth Spreading."

Held with meticulous planning and immense heart, the TED-Ed event offered young students a global stage to speak on topics that matter to them. Their voices, ideas, and passions took centre stage — demonstrating that leadership, innovation, and empathy start early.

32 Students, 32 Talks, Infinite Ideas

The event brought together 32 TED-Ed student speakers, each delivering a powerful 3 to 7-minute TED-style talk. This season was truly global in spirit, with a diverse mix of voices from around the world. Seventeen young changemakers came from Victorious Kids Educare, Kharadi, while others joined in from Singapore, the USA, and Dubai. Their talks touched on meaningful and relatable themes like mental health, sustainability, artificial intelligence, music therapy, friendship, resilience, and digital addiction.

More than just sharing information, these students opened their hearts and minds, offering thoughtful insights and original perspectives that left a lasting impression.

Speaker Highlights Include:

• Aarav Baloda                    Behind Every Word is a World

• Aarzu Ramawat                               Offscript

• Abhijit Tawri                       Is Your Screen Stealing Your Life?

• Agastya Dubey                 Are We Hypocrites?

• Amaya Gavalee                                Books: The Brain’s Best Friend!

• Apurvika Kumar                               The Invisible Price Tag of AI

• Arkaya Jaiswal                  React Mindfully, Respond Powerfully

• Ayan Bairagi                      Everyone Deserves a Digital Chance

• Ayansh Nikole                    When the Sky Started Helping Us

• Ayush Nayak                     You Are the Actor, Not the Character

• Darsh Meher                      Embracing Change: From Jet Lag to Joy

• Gargi Golande                   The Trap That Looks Like Fun

• Garv Bhandari                   Discover the Power of Friendship

• Kartiki Agarwal                 Dance & The Dinosaurs

• Keiyona Kulshrestha       Melodies that Mend

• Kesho Singh Ahluwalia  Escape Traffic Jams, Without Toast

• Khushi Bapna                    Jeans: The Real Drama Queen!

• Khyati Kapoor                    Music is My Best Friend

• Mir Salgar                           The Trap of Screen Addiction

• Myra Alvares                     Our World - Let’s Keep It Clean

• Nizaal Abdullah                                The Truth About Self-Care

• Pooja Wayal                      From Agarbatti To Aerospace

• Reet Shejul                          Is Your Brain Tricking You Everyday?

• Ritisha Mahamuni           The Trap of “Tomorrow”

• Rohan Edlabadkar           Mechanical Mangrove

• Shatakshee Barbade      The Power of Movement

• Shreya Mondal                 The Mirror and the Silence

• Shreya Shejul                     Move to Feel, Not to Fit

• Swaraj Dharmadhikari  Progress Over Perfection

• Tanvi Mishra                      Resilience Isn’t Magic — It’s Mindset

• Yashna Bhandari              Is Loneliness Secretly Killing You?

• Yohan Rakibe                     AI For A Greener Tomorrow

Performances That Moved the Audience

Complementing the talks were 10 dynamic performances from music to dance, including standout appearances by:

·         Avika Somanna

·         Dhriti Pawar

·         Nikhith Nallamalli

·         Prashant Harnaval

·         Purva Mali

·         Shruti Sakore

·         Siddharth Shukla

·         Vaishnavi Mali

·         Vinaya Kshirsagar

Honouring Special Guests

The event was graced by esteemed personalities who were felicitated on stage:

• Chief Guests, Puja Talesara Bhandari & Saarada Ghosh,

• Keynote Guests, Ira Ghosh & Vishal Shevle

• Guest of honours, Reneesh Matthew, Amit Godse, Bijoy Pallissery, Dr. Anindita Chaudhuri, Navya Somanna

Their messages of encouragement reinforced the event’s mission to cultivate expressive, courageous, and thoughtful future leaders.

Launch: A Milestone

A special moment during the event was the launch of 32 personalised TED-Ed books — one for each student speaker and key guest — commemorating their TED journey and growth.

Community That Makes It Possible

Event execution was led by a dynamic hosting team of Shwetha Munegowda, Vasundhara Singh, Aarin Junagade, Aditi Nawale, Janhavi Bardale and Nehansh Kakonia.

It was powered by dedicated volunteers, including:

• Aisha Lobo, Akriti Nirmalkar, Deepa Yadav, Himaprava Panda, Kiran Bhorde, Mahesh Mohite, Manmath Markunde, Manoj Nailwal, Pradnya Mundhe, Rachel Prasangi, Shakil Shaikh, Shubham Jamnik, Sohail Khan, Swarali Patil, Utkarsh Kalinkar, Yash Parse and others.

Special thanks were extended to partner institutions whose support helped realise the vision:

• Victorious Kids Educares, Leadership Demystified, VSPEAK Institute, Anan Cohorts, Stay Featured, Ridaan Array, Rhythm Music Academy, Design Mediaa and Alari Nrityalaya.

A Note from the Mentors:

“Let’s raise a generation that doesn’t just seek applause, but dares to stand for something. Let’s build platforms, not pressure. Let’s create space, not scripts. Let’s nurture voices, not just vocabularies.”— Puja Talesara Bhandari

“That’s why TED-Ed Student Talks is so close to my heart. It’s not just a stage, it’s a space for students to explore who they are, what they think, and how they want to show up in the world.”— Virendra Nirmalkar, Organiser & TED-Ed Facilitator

About TED-Ed Student Talks

The TED-Ed Student Talks Program is a global youth platform by TED-Ed—the educational arm of TED—that helps students aged 8–18 discover, develop, and present their own “Idea Worth Spreading.” Students are guided through a structured curriculum where they explore their passions, learn to write and revise compelling scripts, and deliver a TED-style talk in front of a live audience.

The program is led by a trained educator or facilitator and is designed to build 21st-century skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.

For photos, video clips, or interview requests, please contact:📧 info.vspeak@gmail.com | 📱 +91 63 5995 5995

Issued by: V-Speak Institute, Pune, in collaboration with TED-Ed Student Talks Program