University News Last updated 18 May
Innovation Fest, 18 – 22 May showcases creativity and innovation from graduates from Birmingham City University (BCU). Now in its thirteenth year, students will present their projects to industry professionals as well as attend and participate in a range of panels and workshops alongside employers, entrepreneurs and experts.
The week-long event connects students from subject areas including Built Environment, Computing, Engineering and Gaming with industry professionals providing them with networking opportunities and advice.
Many of the student projects that will be presented during the week are embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve real world challenges from an app to support women in managing period pain to a smart cooking assistant to surveillance for public transport.
Engineering student Malak Elmufty (pictured) is exploring how AI can be used to help women manage their diet to reduce their period pain with her app Menstrual Health Optimisation Using Artificial Intelligence. “A lot of people talk about how we need more women in STEM and a lot of businesses talk about needing more female engineers and balancing the gender of their workforce.” Malak said.
“This project is a perfect example. If we want to solve problems for the whole population, and not just half, we need engineers who represent the whole population.
“Issues like painful periods have been overlooked for generations, so we need female engineers to shed light on these problems and introduce solutions.”
Menstrual Health Optimisation Using Artificial Intelligence aims to provide advice on healthy pain management via an app which turns academic and health research on this subject into understandable, trustworthy and easily accessible information.
From the Computer Science with AI course, Smart Cooking Assistant AI – Clove – is designed to help people cut down on food waste. Instead of ingredients being forgotten in the back of the fridge, Clove helps the user make the most of those ingredients creating recipes based on those ingredients.
Student Rayan Bhatti explained why they wanted to tackle the issue: “Most food waste doesn't come from supermarkets or restaurants it comes from our own home.
“We wanted our project to help deliver UN goals around responsible consumption, climate action and zero hunger.
“We are looking forward to showing Clove off to industry professionals at Innovation Fest, as well as receiving feedback for future development.”
Innovation Fest projects are reaching beyond Birmingham and having an impact in other continents too. Cal Henderson Scholarship student Alex Chavezgamarra, studying Computer Science, has developed a real-time information and surveillance solution for the public transportation system in Peru. Combi Live aims to contribute to a safer, more reliable public transport system.
“Growing up in Peru I experienced first-hand the ongoing problems in public transport and heard the countless testimonies from family and friends of daily harassment and robberies.” Alex said.
“Through Combi Live I hope to have created a rapid response mechanism that reports real-time incidents in order to improve safety for all passengers.”
“Innovation Fest is an opportunity for our students to showcase projects they’ve developed using the latest research, innovative philosophies, offering practical solutions across a range of industries.” said Harprit Virdee, Innovations Fest Manager.
“With businesses invited throughout the week students are able to present their projects to potential employers and entrepreneurs opening doors to future career opportunities.”
Throughout the week students can also attend a number of expert led panels. From the CreaTech Frontiers Showcase on Monday (18 May) to a breakfast briefing on the development of the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter led by the Birmingham City University’s Smart Sustainable Green research group on Tuesday (19 May). Wednesday (20 May) will see the Female Business Leaders and Founders panel explore the realities, challenges, and opportunities shaping the growth of women-led businesses.
The week features two opportunities for students to present their ideas to an audience of peers, mentors and industry guests. On Wednesday (20 May) it is the Innovation Labs demo day, and the week culminates on Friday (22 May) with The Big Idea Pitching Competition.
Innovation Fest is one of the ways that BCU is Creating Knowledge for Good as part of its Strategy 2030. Research from students across disciplines is not only tacking some of the real-world challenges but also making academia more accessible to industry and the public.
Innovation Fest takes place at STEAMhouse on BCU’s City Centre campus. STEAMhouse is a centre for technology, innovation, creative thinking, prototyping and business development. Find out more about the projects developed as part of Innovation Fest and the programme for the week here.