Theme: The Human Condition

The Human Condition refers to the shared experiences, emotions, and challenges that are common to all human beings, regardless of culture, race, or background.

In our rapidly changing world, mankind has to face problems and new experiences together. From the advancements of life-changing technologies such as AI, to new definitions of socially inclusive terms; people are evolving as a collective civilization. Simultaneously, there are things that stick to being human no matter what. TEDxSMICSchool 2024 hopes to use The Human Condition to engage in the continuities and changes of human properties. We embrace the distinct conditions that make us human, even if it shows the unity in our differences.

The SMIC Private School
169 Qing Tong Road
Zhangjiang, Shanghai, 201203
China

Barnabas Wee

Student of SMIC Private School in Shanghai + Class of '25

Barnabas Wee is currently a junior at SMIC Private School Shanghai. Born in Malaysia, he grew up and lived in Shanghai since a very young age. In his free time, he likes to play basketball and volleyball and enjoys socializing with new people. Having an extroverted personality, he has used that to his advantage and became a volunteer in many areas. Similar to many students, Barnabas has often felt overwhelmed from high school, whether about academics or societal pressures. In this speech, he will talk about his volunteering experience and how from there, he has learned to not take things for granted, shifting his mindset and allowing him to convert his stress into motivation.

Cici Zhang

Student of SMIC Private School + Class of '25 + Aspiring Lawyer

Cici Zhang is a junior at SMIC Private School. Drawing inspiration from her mother's resilience and the global movements for change, she passionately advocates for social justice. As a dedicated advocate of equality and empowerment, Cici encourages her peers in joining her mission of advocating for a more just and equitable world.

Franklin Kim

Associate Professor at ShanghaiTech University

Franklin Kim received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from UC Berkeley in 2005. After graduation, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, and later at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University. In 2011, he moved to the Institute for Integrated Cell-Materials Sciences (iCeMS), Kyoto University, as an independent assistant professor. Since 2017, he has been working as an associate professor at the School of Physical Science and Technology (SPST), ShanghaiTech University. His work mainly revolves around the synthesis of nanomaterials and their assembly into functional macroscopic structures, with focus on potential applications in the area of energy and environment.

Karen Carrington

Executive Director (Volunteer) for Heart to Heart Shanghai

Karen was educated in the United States and Switzerland. She attended university and graduate school at Vanderbilt University (in the United States) where she graduated with high honors (magna cum laude / Phi Beta Kappa). She has been involved in many types of professions and businesses over the years, but was with First Data Corporation from 1995 – 2007 in the United States, Japan and China (Beijing and Shanghai). She retired from corporate life as Senior Vice President of Product Strategy and Alliances / Business Solutions at First Data Asia Pacific in 2007. Wishing to dedicate herself to helping children in need once she retired, she runs (as a volunteer) a 100% volunteer not-for-profit organization which sponsors children from the Chinese provinces for heart surgery when their families don’t have the means to pay for it themselves. She has been with the organization since 2007. The organization has sponsored more than 3,000 children for heart surgery.

Kelly Yang

Student of SMIC Private School Shanghai + Class of '25

Kelly Yang is a current junior at SMIC Private School, and this is her sixth year at SMIC. She currently lives in Shanghai but has lived in Hong Kong for seven years prior to her admission to SMIC. She is an expressive person who likes to help, advise, and spread positive influence. She has been teaching underprivileged students online since her freshman year and wants to share her experiences through the speech to help those who suffer from peer pressure. She believes in the influence and power of words and actions.

Tracy Jing Cao

Chief Psychiatrist of Mindspring Clinic

Dr. Cao is a senior physician in psychiatry. She serves as the executive assistant of the Psychiatric Medicine Education and Guidance Committee of the Ministry of Education and is one of the first batch of graduate examination examiners for Resident Standardized Training. With around 20 years of clinical experience in psychiatry at tertiary hospitals, she has acquired rich hands-on experience. Dr. Cao is particularly adept at diagnosing and treating various emotional disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, sleep disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and psychosomatic diseases, as well as providing suicide crisis intervention. She has extensive experience in addressing psychological issues among special groups such as perinatal mood disorders, dementia, and emotional and behavioral disorders in adolescents. She has directed and participated in multiple research projects, published nearly 10 theses in core academic journals both domestically and internationally.

William Yip

Musical Theatre Director / Drama & Musical Theatre Education Expert

William is experienced in the educational drama field. Since 1997, he has been a drama educator and consultant at various schools, higher education, government departments, arts and social service organisations. Since 2003, he has developed a variety of educational drama programmes in over 200 local schools in Hong Kong. His "Learning English through Drama" curriculum was published by the Oxford University Press and adopted by the Hong Kong Education Bureau for its teachers’ training programme in 2009. In 2015, William moved to the mainland China, where his leadership and connections took him to more than 30 cities in the mainland, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Qingdao, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and much more. He has also been interviewed by a variety of major media press. Since 2018, William has been leading a project in collaboration with Teach for China and Linmon Pictures to promote education equity in rural areas through educational drama programmes.