Regional AI & Automation Hackathon

Not a hackathon you compete in — this is the showcase at the end of one. Teams of young people who have spent the programme building AI tools for real public service problems present their prototypes to a judging panel, with local authorities, employers and technology partners in the room.

Run by the West Midlands Combined Authority with Cloud Crew, and billed as the region's first public sector AI and automation hackathon. Millennium Point's auditorium on Curzon Street. Welcome at 2:00pm, team presentations and prototype demos 2:10 to 3:40, judging panel to 3:50, then networking aimed explicitly at employers, education providers and technology partners. The listing publishes no ticket price.

Why go: the public sector AI pipeline in the West Midlands is small enough that one afternoon shows you most of it. Best for anyone hiring junior AI talent, or selling automation into local government.