On May 31, Universidad Europea, in conjunction with theTED media organization, organized an “Anti-discipline” event, combining live speeches and videos aimed at generating a discussion on the need to break the rules and look for alternative routes to greater personal and professional development, with experts in innovation, architecture, creativity, science and communication.
The head of University Life at Universidad Europea and coordinator of #TEDxUniversidadEuropeaMadrid, Chrisa Sampanes, introduced the first speaker Sergio Calvo, Vice Rector for Teaching Support and Research, who addressed the need to get out of our comfort zone and tackle old challenges from a new perspective. According to Calvo, “we don't realize how paralyzing NO can be. We must immerse ourselves in ‘The Power of Why Not’.” The next talk, exploring the human challenges of globalization, was given by medical student Melany Zárate, and was titled “The Process of Existence.” It was then time for Architecture Professor Adolfo Nadal's talk entitled “Trans-discipline,” focused on the home and cities of the future in terms of sustainable development. To end the first block, Rosa Maria Rodriquez Jimenez spoke on “Rigor without rigidity: body and empathy in the classroom.”
The second block began with Nicolás Veneri and his “Imagina, a proFantasy manifesto,” emphasizing that we should “not focus on a single project, waste time and fantasize while doing so.” Beatriz Jacoste, an International Relations alumni, spoke about the importance of learning and promoting creativity through gastronomy to encourage the development of other disciplines with “Reimagining the Future of Learning through Food.” Finally, artist Jorge Mañes gave a talk on “A brief history of art and architecture on the Moon,” discussing things that we overlook in our society and things we thought we understood to “reimagine an alternative reality.”