The University is the exclusive education partner for this invitation-only conference on ‘ideas worth spreading’. Professor of Sustainable Agriculture John Crawford, Professor Geoffrey Garrett from the Sydney Business School and PHD student Christopher Neff will join a diverse group of Sydney alumni, including activist Jeremy Heimans and singer Tim Freedman.

The TEDx conference is being held at Carriageworks in Eveleigh on Saturday 26 May. It is an offshoot of United States-based TED talks, founded in 1984. TED speakers have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Sir Richard Branson and Bono.

TEDxSydney student competition winners
Congratulations to Maryum Chaudhry and Sam O'Leary, who've won double passes to this weekend's exclusive event.

20 double passes to the TEDWorldwide Talent Search have also been awarded as runner-up prizes.

Watch TEDxSydney live
TEDxSydney will also be publically available via webstream (between 9am and 6.30pm) and on ABC Radio National (between 1 and 7pm).  

Everyone is welcome to also join a free live viewing event hosted in the Carriageworks foyer by alumnus Julian Morrow, co-founder of The Chaser. The foyer will feature a live simulcast of the conference from 8.50am. Professor John Crawford from the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment will give a public talk in the foyer at 1.30pm.

Read some general information about the University’s partnership with TEDxSydney 2012.

Get involved in our largest ever program of public events for Reconciliation Week.

This year the University invites you to make your mark in the Sea of Hands, attend exclusive performances at the Seymour Centre, enjoy a barbeque, tour one of our museums, and more.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Michael Spence hopes the entire community will join the University to mark this important occasion. “As one of the country's foremost universities, we recognise the need to play a leading national role in the process of reconciliation, and, through education, to help bridge the economic and social divides that persist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians," Dr Spence said.

See the 'events' listing below, or check out all the Reconciliation Week activities online.

More more information on the University's Indigenous strategy and services, visit the University's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander paticipation page.

Does a lack of sleep, negative mood or an inability to concentrate disrupt your day?

Researchers from the School of Psychology are looking for healthy people aged between 22 and 50 to participate in a trial on how sound therapy might help manage these issues. Participation involves listening to a customised portable music player for one-to-three hours per day over a three-month period. It can be done while performing all your normal daily duties. The study also involves two lab consultations and the collection of heart rate data. 

Contact Lucy Warhurst to participate. Your contribution will help make a difference to our understanding of the way in which sound therapy works.

Researchers from the Faculty of Health Sciences are seeking the perspectives of young adults who have a sibling with a mental illness.

Mental illness can affect the whole family, including siblings. This study is interested in the impact upon young adults’ lives and activities when a sibling experiences mental illness.

If you are aged between 15 and 24 and have a sibling with a diagnosed mental illness, you'll be asked to participate in one or two informal interviews at a time of your choice at the University. Participants will receive a Westfield gift card as a token of appreciation.

For more information or to participate, please contact Francesca Coniglio on 9351 9215.

Would you like to work in the bustling city of Hong Kong with an investment-banking firm that manages over $20 billion in net assets? 

SFM HK Management’s Legal Analyst position will enhance your legal skills while giving you the opportunity to work across the company’s New York and Hong Kong offices. Apply now via the Careers Centre website.

This week: voting in the USU election, fine art and photography exhibitions.

Election 2012 voting

Democracy is in full swing as seven young candidate’s campaign ahead of the all-important USU elections. Once again, the campus becomes coated in chalk as sleep-deprived campaigners keep the spirit of student politics alive and well. Pick up the official candidature brochure from USU helpdesks or download it online.

USU members hit the ballot booths Tuesday 29 to Wednesday 30 May, with an exciting live count at the election party at Hermann's on the Wednesday night.

University of Sydney Photo and Art Exhibition

PhotoSoc and FineArtSoc present the University of Sydney Photo and Art Exhibition, a chance to show off your creative talent.

When: 13 to 17 June
Where: Toxteth Hotel in Glebe

Submissions (open to any USU Access cardholder) are due 29 May.

Get involved in a wide range of free events on campus for National Reconciliation Week 2012.

The week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can join the national reconciliation effort.

See the full list of events on campus.

Information on broader community events is available on the National Reconciliation Week 2012 website.

Join Professor John Mattick from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research as he talks about the hidden layer of genomic programming in human development and cognition.

The vast tracts of non-protein-coding sequences in the human genome are not junk, but rather specify hard and soft-wired regulatory systems that direct the epigenetic processes underpinning development and brain function.

Part of a ‘SciNaPPS’ lecture series (science, neurology, and psychiatry/psychology seminars).

Event details
When: 3.30pm, Friday 25 May
Where: Level 5 lecture theatre, Brain and Mind Research Institute, 94 Mallett Street, Camperdown

The word ‘jazz’ has confounded simple explanations throughout its relatively short history.

Is jazz a definable musical genre, or does it describe an approach to music with specific processes and outcomes? Is it necessarily the property of a specific time and place, or is it a living, changing, organic phenomenon?

Presented by acclaimed pianist, composer, arranger and conductor Paul Grabowsky, this talk is part of the Alfred Hook Lecture Series 2012.

Event details
When: 4pm, Friday 25 May
Where: Music Workshop, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, corner Bridge and Macquarie Streets, Sydney
Cost: Free

For more information contact Susie Walsh on 9351 1442 or visit the Con website.

Professor of Human Nutrition Jennie Brand-Miller and her team rate the carbohydrates in hundreds of foods they test each year. This helps people create diets with a low glycemic index (GI) to achieve long-term weight loss and improve health prospects. 

Do you have health and wellbeing questions for Professor Brand-Miller?

Send your questions to what.matters@sydney.edu.au, or post in the comments section of her 'What Matters' page, and Jennie will answer them during a live online forum.

Event details
When: 12 to 1pm, Tuesday 29 May
Where: What Matters website

Timo-Veikko Valve, Principal Cellist of the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), will join The Sydney University Symphony Orchestra (SUSO) in a special matinee concert.

The performace will include:

• Rossini’s William Tell Overture  
• Ravel’s Ma Mere L'oye (Mother Goose Suite)
• Dvorak’s cello concerto 

Conducted by Vanessa Scammell.  

Event details
When: 2pm, Sunday 3 June
Where: Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, corner Bridge and Macquarie Streets, Sydney
Cost: $20, concession $15, Access members $10
Book tickets online or buy them at the door, subject to availability. Seating is unreserved.

For more information contact the SUSO on 0410 711 901.