BCU puts student AI projects in front of employers at Innovation Fest

Birmingham City University students in the UK will present projects spanning menstrual health, food waste, and public transport safety during a week-long showcase at STEAMhouse.

Student using a virtual reality headset at Birmingham City University Innovation Fest 25

Birmingham City University is putting student AI projects in front of employers, entrepreneurs, and industry specialists this week as Innovation Fest returns to its UK campus.

The event, now in its thirteenth year, runs from 18 to 22 May at STEAMhouse on BCU’s City Centre campus. It connects students from areas including Built Environment, Computing, Engineering, and Gaming with industry professionals through project showcases, panels, workshops, demo sessions, and pitching opportunities.

This year’s projects include AI tools focused on menstrual health, food waste, and public transport safety.

Students apply AI to health and sustainability

Engineering student Malak Elmufty will present Menstrual Health Optimisation Using Artificial Intelligence, an app exploring how AI can support women in managing their diet to reduce period pain.

The project is designed to turn academic and health research into accessible guidance on healthy pain management. For Elmufty, the work also connects to a wider question around who gets to shape engineering solutions.

Elmufty says: "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."

She says the project shows why representation in engineering affects the problems that are prioritized: "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."

From BCU’s Computer Science with AI course, Smart Cooking Assistant AI, known as Clove, is focused on food waste. The tool is designed to help users build recipes from ingredients they already have, reducing the likelihood of food being left unused at home.

Rayan Bhatti says the team wanted the project to tackle everyday waste: "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."

Bhatti says Innovation Fest will also give the team a chance to test the idea with external audiences: "We are looking forward to showing Clove off to industry professionals at Innovation Fest, as well as receiving feedback for future development."

Transport safety project looks beyond Birmingham

Another project at the festival takes BCU student innovation beyond the UK. Alex Chavezgamarra, a Cal Henderson Scholarship student studying Computer Science, has developed Combi Live, a real-time information and surveillance solution for public transport in Peru.

The project is designed to support safer and more reliable public transport by reporting incidents in real time. Chavezgamarra says the idea was shaped by direct experience of transport safety concerns: "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."

He adds: "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."

The projects show students applying AI and digital tools to defined problems, rather than building technology in isolation. Across the festival, BCU is also positioning student work as something employers can assess, challenge, and potentially support beyond the university setting.

Panels, demos, and pitching events run through the week

Innovation Fest includes a program of expert-led panels and student-facing events. The week opens with the CreaTech Frontiers Showcase on Monday, 18 May, followed by a breakfast briefing on the development of the Birmingham Knowledge Quarter on Tuesday, 19 May, led by BCU’s Smart Sustainable Green research group.

On Wednesday, 20 May, the Female Business Leaders and Founders panel will examine the realities, challenges, and opportunities shaping women-led businesses. The same day includes the Innovation Labs demo day, before the week closes on Friday, 22 May, with The Big Idea Pitching Competition.

Harprit Virdee, Innovations Fest Manager, says the event gives students a route to present work based on research and practical problem-solving to people outside the university: "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."

With businesses attending throughout the week, Virdee says students will be able to present their work to potential employers and entrepreneurs, "opening doors to future career opportunities."

Innovation Fest forms part of BCU’s Strategy 2030 and its "Creating Knowledge for Good" work. The festival is taking place at STEAMhouse, BCU’s UK center for technology, innovation, creative thinking, prototyping, and business development, with students presenting ideas at a time when universities are being asked to show clearer links between learning, skills, and employment.