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Monday 19 May

STEAM Education, Access and Outreach

Innovation Festival launches with a warm welcome from our leadership team, followed by a full day of activity for local schools and colleges to experience the event. We aim to deliver high-quality, academically led, designed, and experiential outreach workshops for Year 9 and 10s as part of our Schools and Community Day.

This day is not open to external guests.

Wednesday 21 May

Sustainability and Digital Innovation

Come and explore a range of talks, workshops and activities around the impact of sustainability and digital solutions.

• 9.30 - 10 am - Check-in at STEAMhouse reception
• 10 - 11 am –ÌýÌýWomen in STEM panel: Hear from our inspirational graduates as they tell us all about their exciting careers and share their advice to those following in their footsteps!
• 10 am - 12.30 pm – Industry Listening Session: Join four industry experts including a Grammy award winning producer (Mike Exeter), Major label owner and award-winning producer (Gavin Monaghan) and two Universal signed songwriters (Tara Chinn and Peter Brown) to share and seek feedback on your productions, mixes and recordings
• 10 am - 2 pm – Reverse Engineering: An innovative, practical project where students explore how everyday products can be improved to optimise performance, last longer, be repaired more easily and be produced in a more sustainable manner. The project is delivered in partnership with LK Metrology, a UK engineering business specialising in the design and manufacture of innovative premium coordinate measuring machine (CMM) solutions which advance the field of metrology.
• 10 am - 2 pm – TechHack4Dementia: An intensive hackathon aimed at harnessing the power of computing technology to improve the lives of individuals living with dementia. Participants will collaborate in interdisciplinary teams to design and prototype innovative solutions that address real-world challenges in dementia care.
• 10 am - 2 pm –ÌýÌýRepair Lab: Our engineering students run a repair lab for people to bring in broken electrical items to be repaired. Our students will diagnose the problem and fix the fault, as well as identify ways to improve how it operates too. Bring along any broken items and find out how they can be restored!
• 11 am - 12 pm – Centre for Future Homes: Professor Mike Leonard and lecturer Monica Mateo-Garcia outline the projects the team are involved in, the outcomes, as well as how we are delivering low carbon safer neighbourhoods, providing comfortable safer homes that will remain fit for purpose for future generations as we experience a significant change in climatic conditions.
• 12 - 1 pm – Guest talk from Cisco: Louise Mills from Cisco talks about our long-standing partnership with the technology giant for over 25 years.
• 12 - 2 pm – Placement Fair: Hear about real life placement experiences from students, and meet our Careers team and employers.
• 1.30 - 2 pm –ÌýBuilding Acoustics Project Competition: See our second-year audio students showcase their building project designs to industry guest judges.
• 2 - 3 pm –ÌýÌýMicrophone Casing Design Competition (optional): Casing for microphones is in general, just functional and hence boring. See how our students have decorated their microphone casings to add to the artistry of aesthetic interpretation of music and hence ‘lift’ the musicality of artists using their mics
• 2 - 3 pm – Guest talk from LK Metrology (optional):ÌýJoin Engineering’s headline partner on Reverse Engineering to present an industry talk from James Miller.

Thursday 22 May

Artificial Intelligence

Join us on the penultimate day of Innovation Fest and delve into the world of Artificial Intelligence with talks from students, tutors and industry experts on this emerging digital technology.

• 9.30 - 10 amÌý– Check-in at STEAMhouse reception
• 10 - 11 am –ÌýTransforming Healthcare through AI-Powered Innovation: Join us as we demonstrate experiences in developing AI-driven technological solutions to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the healthcare sector. Specific industrial uses cases will demonstrate how artificial intelligence, simulation modelling, and digital communication tools are being leveraged to address critical healthcare needs and improve emergency preparedness, ultimately demonstrating the potential for technology to significantly enhance outcomes in high-stakes environments.
• 12 - 1 pmÌý–ÌýGuest talk from Dr Hadeel Saadany and Prof Constantin Orasan on Large Language Models: This presentation delves into the multifaceted world of large language models (LLMs), exploring their strengths and limitations across various tasks, with a particular focus on their conversational capabilities.
• 10 am - 2 pm – Formula Student Car: Come and see what our Formula Students have created to go to Silverstone in July 2025!
• 10 am - 2 pm –ÌýRepair Lab: Our engineering students run a repair lab for people to bring in broken electrical items to be repaired. Our students will diagnose the problem and fix the fault, as well as identify ways to improve how it operates. Bring along any broken items and find out how they can be restored!
• 10 am - 2 pm – Micromouse Robot: Join us to watch Engineering students showcase their wheeled robot designed to follow a line autonomously through an exciting competition where the fastest one wins!
• 10 am - 2 pmÌý– Engineering final year L6 and L7 projects: Come and see what our final year and postgraduate students have created for their final year projects. Industry guests will be around to see the work, so you’ll have the opportunity to network with them and hear from students on how they achieved their final project.
• 2 - 4 pm – AI for sustainability in the Built EnvironmentÌý(Optional): Come along to this workshop to learn how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming sustainability in the Built Environment. From automating regulation compliance checks to enhancing knowledge discovery, AI is enabling smarter, more sustainable decision-making across architecture, engineering, construction, and urban planning.

See the full schedule for Innovation Festival 2025

Please note that some activities are invite only, and this is noted on the programme. Current staff and students do not need to book for the event, and everyone else is encouraged to book using the links above.

Full schedule