TEDxVUB

Speakers

Speakers may not be confirmed. Check the event website for the latest lineup.

• Badr Boussabat

  Professor, Author + Entrepreneur

  Badr Boussabat, AI entrepreneur, professor, author, and international speaker, exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping business, finance, and the way we create value. In his talk, Badr looks at how we can move beyond simply using AI and start thinking about how we can truly benefit from the opportunities it creates.

• Lien Smeesters

  Professor + Researcher

  Lien Smeesters, professor and photonics researcher at VUB, and someone who uses light to reveal what the human eye cannot see. Through her research in optical sensing and spectroscopy, Lien explores how light can be used to detect harmful substances in food quickly and without destroying the product. In her talk, she shows how photonics can help us uncover invisible risks and open up new possibilities for safer food.

• Meryem Ben Elajla

  Physicist

  Meryem Ben Elajla, photonics expert, deep-tech professional, and someone whose career has taken her across research, technology, business and everything in between. Having explored so many different paths, Meryem knows firsthand that a career rarely moves in one straight direction. In her talk, she challenges the traditional career ladder and asks: what if we stopped climbing and started mapping instead?

• Milena Matevosyan

  Consultant

  Milena Matevosyan, working at the intersection of startups and technology, and someone who has seen firsthand that bold ideas often come with the risk of looking a little foolish. Over the past five years, Milena has watched founders pitch ideas that didn’t exist yet, take bets without guarantees, and put themselves out there knowing they could fail very publicly. The common thread? A willingness to risk embarrassment in order to try something remarkable. In her talk, she explores why we’ve become so afraid of being “cringe” and what we might gain by caring a little less about looking cool.

• Ruben D'Hooghe

  Founder

  Ruben D’Hooghe, founder of Kommodoor, advisor to founders, and someone who knows a thing or two about being productively distracted. For years, Ruben built systems, funnels and new directions around his talent, only to realise that sometimes, all that “progress” is just a very sophisticated way of avoiding the one thing that truly matters.

• Tom Verstraten

  Professor

  Tom Verstraten, professor in robotics at VUB, researcher, and someone dedicated to making robots work better for humans. From prosthetic limbs to exoskeletons and humanoid robots, Tom explores the intricate mechanics behind both the human body and robotics and what it takes to make the two truly work together.