AI Innovation Hub @UCL: Building the Future with Purpose

Date: July 16, 2025
Location: IBM York Road, London
Event: IBM TechXchange User Group – AI Innovation Hub @UCL

🔍 A Showcase of AI in Action

On July 16th, IBM’s York Road offices were transformed into a vibrant hub of innovation as students from UCL’s Computer Science MSc and Software Systems Engineering MSc programs presented their AI-driven projects at the AI Innovation Hub, part of the IBM TechXchange User Group series. Here students created AI based Proof of Concepts - to support innovation with IBM Partners, Clients and Charities, including NHS, Intel, CISCO, NTTData, Visualise Info and many more. 

This midway showcase marked a significant milestone in the students’ journey, as they shared their progress on real-world AI Proofs of Concept developed in collaboration with industry mentors from both  IBM, and our clients and partners.

🤝 Collaboration with Purpose

The projects spanned a wide range of domains—healthcare, sustainability, finance, disaster recovery, and edtech—but all shared a common goal: using AI to improve lives and transform business.

Key partnerships were at the heart of this initiative:

• NHS & Digital Health: The majority of our students focused on this. Here students explored how AI can reduce the administrative burden on clinicians, freeing up time for patient care. While, Dr. Avi Mehra shared insights into IBM’s work with the NHS App, highlighting the real-world impact of digital health innovation.

• Intel Corporation: As a strategic partner, Intel supported projects that leveraged AI PC and cloud-based AI to build scalable, sustainable solutions. Their collaboration with IBM and UCL is helping democratize access to high-performance AI tools.

• Visualise Info :This partner supported projects focused on the use of AI to support the vital management of infrastructure in a radically new and effective way.

💡 Student Innovation in the Spotlight

One standout project, the LLM-Powered Anti-Pattern Resolution Tool, was presented by a team of MSc Software Systems students. This intelligent assistant helps developers detect and resolve anti-patterns in legacy codebases using IBM Granite, Watsonx, and local LLMs like Ollama and vLLM.

“It’s no longer about writing the code, but guiding it.”
– Avinash Mallick, UCL MSc Student

The project exemplifies the blend of technical excellence and human-centered design that defined the day.

🎤 Inspiring Voices

The event was opened by Nicola Hodson, Chair of IBM UK & Ireland, who delivered an inspiring keynote celebrating the power of mentorship and the long-standing collaboration between IBM and UCL.

“Technology is a force for good—and mentoring benefits both students and IBMers alike.”
– Nicola Hodson

Other highlights included:

• Natasha Walsh, who energized the room with her talk on the IBM Champions program and the power of community.
• Dr. Avi Mehra, who offered a deep dive into IBM’s digital health initiatives and took questions from students, clients, and partners.

📸 A Day to Remember

The event generated a wave of positivity across LinkedIn and social media, with posts celebrating the students’ creativity, the mentors’ dedication, and the power of collaboration.

“A huge thank you to Natasha Walsh for your awesome talk around IBM Champions and #TechXchange – you sparked a powder keg of positive discussion!”
– John McNamara

“Incredible AI projects from UCL Computer Science students, presented to Intel, Cisco, NHS, and more. A brilliant day of innovation and impact.

🌍 Looking Ahead

The AI Innovation Hub @UCL is more than an event—it’s a movement for technical innovation and tech for good. It reflects IBM’s commitment to open AI, skills development, and collaborative innovation that makes a difference.

As these students continue to develop their projects, supported by IBM its partners for mentorship,  while using IBM SkillsBuild for IBM AI learning ,they’re not just building technology—they’re shaping the future.

Thank you to the TechXchange team, IBM York Road Innovation Studio, UCL and our friends at NHS, Intel, NTT Data, CISCI, Celerity, Visualise Info, Monte Alto for making this possible