TEDxUniversityofNevada organizers have announced their sixth annual event will be Saturday, January 27, 2018, and the call for speakers is open from June 1-30. Speakers interested in participating in the event are encouraged to submit proposals to share their "big idea worth spreading."

Over the course of the last five events, TEDxUniversityofNevada has become one of the most sought-after TEDx events in the country. Not only is it a hub for some of the brightest innovators, inspirational speakers and spellbinding performers, but the event has also fostered national dialogue with its combined 102 total videos, reaching nearly 20 million views online.

TEDxUniversityofNevada 2018 will take place at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. The new venue is made possible with strong support from the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.

Passionate community members with big ideas are encouraged to submit an application for the event.

"Big ideas are thriving in Reno," Bret Simmons, College of Business associate professor and TEDxUniversityofNevada organizer, said. "Our goal is to find local people with perspectives the global TED community needs to hear. We're determined to present quality community and University speakers year after year."

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. While organizers try to incorporate each of these elements into the program, Simmons said event organizers are especially looking for technology and design-focused talks.

"Our event last January was by far our most successful event, with two speaker talks reaching more than one million online views within the first four months after they posted," Simmons said. "While the event had many important ideas, we still need more speakers that can address big ideas in technology or design. Since we're always trying to outdo ourselves and raise the bar, we are determined to showcase Reno and Nevada as a place that also has big ideas worth spreading in this arena."

Speakers such as Bill Eckstrom, Mariana Atencio, Jocko Willink, Alexis Jones and Samina Ali helped draw the largest crowd and greatest number of online video views in the event's history. In just four months, the 22 videos have already racked up nearly 4.5 million combined views.

The call for speakers can be found at the TEDxUniversityofNevada website and is open from June 1-30. Those interested in applying are encouraged to do so early in June.

Presenting sponsors of TEDxUniversityofNevada include the University's College of Business Online Executive MBA program, the Associate Students of the University of Nevada, the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and the University of Nevada, Reno. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available for this year's event. For more information, contact Bret Simmons at simmonsb@unr.edu.

All TEDxUniversityofNevada talks will be posted to the TEDx YouTube site.