TEDxUniversity of Technology Iraq

Speakers

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

• Ali Burkan

  Oud player and vocalist

  Ali Burkan is a young Iraqi oud player and vocalist whose work blends the authenticity of the oud with the emotional depth of Iraqi singing. His performances reflect a balance between musical technique, vocal presence, and heartfelt expression. At TEDxUniversity of Technology Iraq, Ali presents a musical moment that goes beyond melody, where every note carries meaning and every pause creates space for feeling. His performance adds an intimate artistic layer to the event experience, connecting the audience with music as a language beyond words.

• Ali Jasim

  Adventure entrepreneur and experiential travel creator

  Ali Jasim (known as Ali Adventure) is an Iraqi adventure entrepreneur and founder of Guru Camp, one of the early initiatives in Iraq focused on outdoor experiences and experiential travel. His work blends tourism, exploration, and community building, creating journeys that go beyond destinations into meaningful human experiences. Starting from a background in medical equipment maintenance, Ali built his path around movement, discovery, and creating spaces for others to reconnect with nature and themselves. His journey took a turning point after a life-changing accident that challenged his identity as a traveler and adventurer. Through that experience, he redefined what it means to move forward, not just physically, but mentally and purposefully. Today, his story reflects resilience, reinvention, and the idea that progress is not tied to one way of living.

• Ali Mohsen Taher

  Innovation ecosystem builder and workforce development advocate

  Ali Mohsen Taher is an Iraqi innovation and entrepreneurship leader, and the Managing Director of Makers of Baghdad, one of Iraq’s active spaces for training, entrepreneurship, and youth development. Through his work with thousands of young Iraqis, Ali has closely observed the gap between skills, opportunities, and access to the labor market. His talk explores how employment challenges are often not only about the absence of jobs, but about the lack of clear systems that connect real skills with real opportunities. His perspective shifts the conversation from assumptions to data, from traditional hiring to skills-based matching, and from isolated efforts to systems that can better serve both job seekers and employers.

• Dr. Mustafa Khudair Abadi

  Architect

  Dr. Mustafa Khudair Abadi explores the relationship between architecture, identity, and the human experience. His talk reflects on how modern cities often drift away from their cultural and social roots, and how design can either disconnect or reconnect people with their environment. Through his perspective, architecture is not merely about physical form, but about meaning, context, and the role of space in shaping human life.

• Eliya Band

  Live instrumental ensemble

  Eliya & Band present a live instrumental performance that brings together saxophone, violin, and piano in a shared musical experience. Their performance is designed to create a space beyond ordinary listening, where rhythm, harmony, and emotion come together to shape a collective atmosphere. At TEDxUniversity of Technology Iraq, their segment reflects how music can connect people without the need for explanation, turning sound into a moment of unity, energy, and reflection.

• Khayoon Al-Fayyadh

  Aerospace and UAV engineering student and self-learning advocate

  Khayoon Al-Fayyadh is a student of aerospace and UAV engineering, with an academic background that also includes business administration through the University of the People. His journey reflects a non-linear path through education, self-learning, and career direction. After facing challenges in a traditional academic route, he rebuilt his path through online learning, scholarships, and personal exploration. His talk focuses on rethinking failure, not as the end of a journey, but as a signal that the path may need to change. Through his story, Khayoon invites the audience to look beyond conventional definitions of success and consider how self-learning and courage can open unexpected directions.

• Mawj Riyadh

  A pharmacy student interested in science, learning and teaching methods

  Beyond Learning A pharmacy student with a passion for redefining education, Mawj Riyadh focuses on shifting learning from passive consumption to active exploration. Her talk emphasizes the importance of questioning, experimentation, and bridging the gap between academic knowledge and real-world impact, encouraging a more thoughtful and engaged approach to learning.

• Mustafa Al-Karkhi

  Content Creator & Film Director

  Mustafa Al-Karkhi is an Iraqi content creator and film director known for transforming everyday subjects into engaging visual stories. He began his journey through digital content focused on cars, where he built a strong audience by presenting technical topics in a simple, relatable, and creative way. Over time, his work evolved beyond content creation into directing, where he started crafting more structured narratives and visual experiences. His approach blends storytelling, observation, and a deep understanding of audience perception, allowing him to turn ordinary moments into compelling stories. Mustafa’s journey reflects a shift from documenting what people see… to reshaping how they see it. His work explores the idea that storytelling is not just about what is shown, but about the perspective through which it is presented.

• Sinan Safaa Abu Al-Eis

  CTO, telecommunications expert, and engineering sector leader

  Sinan Safaa Abu Al-Eis is the Chief Technology Officer at Masarat Iraq ICT and a board member of the Iraqi Engineers Union. With deep experience in telecommunications, digital infrastructure, and technology systems, he has played an active role in shaping discussions around Iraq’s telecom and ICT sector. His contribution to the dual conversation focuses on what lies beneath connectivity, the networks, planning, decisions, and systems that make modern communication possible. Through his perspective, telecommunications infrastructure is not presented as a technical background, but as a foundation that affects cities, services, economies, and the way people live.

• Yahya Sami

  MERLA consultant, management specialist, and trainer

  Yahya Sami is a MERLA consultant, management specialist, freelance trainer, and civil engineer with extensive experience in management, institutional development, facilitation, and professional dialogue. He is known for his ability to connect structured thinking with practical realities, turning complex topics into clear and meaningful discussions. At TEDxUniversity of Technology Iraq, Yahya leads the dual conversation on telecommunications infrastructure, guiding the dialogue through questions that reveal what often remains unseen behind the systems we depend on every day. His role is to help the audience move beyond assumptions and toward a clearer understanding of how infrastructure shapes cities, services, and society.