A jet-suit pilot, a rocket scientist and a former CIA “master of disguise” will be among the speakers at this year’s TEDx Bermuda conference.

The ninth edition of the conference, themed Capacity and Curiosity, will take place at the Fairmont Southampton this month and includes a host of leading experts from around the world.

The TEDx Bermuda organisers said: “Like every year, we strive to find the leaders of thought in various fields.

“We are very fortunate to have a full slate of speakers that are truly remarkable and will definitely keep the audience on the edges of their seats and their minds buzzing with so many interesting and inspiring talks.”

One speaker, Richard Browning, a British pioneer in human aviation, will demonstrate a flight in a jet suit to schoolchildren during his stay in Bermuda.

Mr Browning, the founder and chief test pilot of Gravity Industries, will talk through the “perceived boundaries in human aviation” to inspire others to dare to ask the question: “What if?”

Another speaker, Joan Higginbotham, a Chicago-born former Nasa rocket scientist, was the third African-American woman to travel into space, where she worked on building the International Space Station.

Jonna Heistand Mendez, a retired intelligence officer, joined the CIA’s Office of Technical Services, which is often compared to the “Q” Branch in the James Bond movies.

She had a speciality in clandestine photography and her duties included training top CIA assets in the use of spy cameras and processing.

• The full line-up of TEDx Bermuda speakers is available on the conference website, tedxbermuda.com. TEDx Bermuda takes place at the Fairmont Southampton on Saturday from 1pm to 6pm. Tickets are $75 and are available at ptix.bm