The Birmingham Project

Get a head start in developing and identifying your employability skills. 

The Birmingham Project is an exciting one-week challenge for first year undergraduate students that takes place on the Birmingham campus. Make yourself stand out with enterprise and team-working skills, developing an innovative solution to social or environmental issues in small groups with students from across the university.  

The Birmingham Project is taking place from 9-13 June 2025. We are delighted to announce our seven employer supporters:

  • Birmingham City FC
  • Condé Nast and Vogue
  • Expedia
  • HSBC
  • Siemens
  • Transport for West Midlands
  • West Midlands Combined Authority. 

Find out more about our Employer Supporters for 2025

BSc Biochemistry student

“It was an amazing experience, learning to collaborate with others and develop digital skills over a week, and work on a sustainable project. All under the guidance of a major company to support our work.”

Enrolment for The Birmingham Project 2025 is now closed.

What is The Birmingham Project?

  • A one week challenge for first year undergraduates. This will take place over one week from 9-13 June 2025
  • In person event on campus
  • Time Commitment: You will need to be available for all days of the week and there is a structured timetable with set sessions particularly on Day 1 and the Final Day 
  • An opportunity for you to work on a collaborative project to explore key social and environmental issues.
  • After enrolling, you can choose your theme preferences and you will be matched to a theme subject to availability.
  • Your group's challenge question will then be revealed and you will work together to develop an innovative solution.
  • We equip you with the training and skills to do this, and support you in navigating working within a newly formed team.
  • The project is assessed through a group video presentation (50%) and a self-evaluation (50%). The assessment will determine whether you receive a pass or fail award.
  • The programme does not bear any credits and therefore will not contribute towards your degree classification.
  • You don't need any experience! You will be guided throughout the week with support from facilitators and staff

Why take part? 

Recognising and articulating skills effectively is essential when entering the graduate job market. The Birmingham Project is a fantastic way for you to get a head start in developing your skills in a way that employers will recognise; the programme is a great CV booster and a unique experience to talk about in interviews. 

These are just a few of the skills we expect you to develop during the project: 

  • Teamwork
  • Communication
  • Project Management
  • Leadership
  • Innovation
  • Research

What are the themes and challenge questions? 

We have six themes to choose from; an industry professional and a team of academics support each challenge.

You should choose a challenge theme (below) that speaks to you and your interests. There is no prior experience necessary to sign up and the theme does not need to align with your degree programme.

Themes for this year: 

  • Sport and Impact
  • Arts and Culture
  • Global Society
  • Responsible Business
  • Technology and Innovation
  • Future of Transport
  • Developing Community 

On the first day you will be welcomed into your team and your challenge question will be revealed. The challenge question will be related to your chosen theme. 

Over the course of the week, you will work collaboratively with your team to develop an innovative solution to your challenge question. On the final day you will give an assessed presentation to your peers, industry professionals, and your academic support team.

What do previous participants say?

BSc Chemistry student

'Designing the Future of Transport' theme

“I would 100% recommend the Birmingham Project, it’ll help you find out what type of team player you are. You’ll improve your ability to work under pressure, as two weeks to research and to create a digital output is quite short. Hopefully you’ll see that you’ve changed at the end of it.”

What is the prize for winning in your theme? 

One winning group per theme will be selected by our Judging Panels to win a prize. There will be 7 winning groups in total across the project. 

The prize for each group is arranged by the employer partner. Previous prizes have included a visit to the employer partner's organisation for the opportunity to learn about their business areas from key experts and recruiters.

Taking part in The Birmingham Project isn't just about winning a prize and there will be recognition for all upon successful completion of the project: 

Want to take part? Find out more below! 

Please only enrol if you are available every day from 09:00-17:00 during the project week

There are a limited number of spaces on the project and places will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the maximum number of participants has been reached, students may be asked to join a waiting list.

First year students will be contacted via email in April with the enrolment link. 

All first year undergraduate students’ enrolment

The Birmingham Project will return again in June 2026. Enrolment will be available in Spring 2026.