Futures of Systems, People and Projects (FUSP) laboratory

This British Council-funded project establishes a UK–Brazil partnership to equip marginalised young adults aged 18-30 with practical climate and circular economy skills linked to practical livelihoods. Leeds Beckett University, with the Federal University of Western Pará and Quilombola community organisations, will deliver co-designed training in climate literacy, circular enterprise and responsible use of AI. The programme combines structured learning, mentored work placements and youth-led enterprise pilots for Afro-Brazilian Quilombola and UK young people not in education or employment. Through international exchange and community-based delivery, the project creates accessible pathways into green work, strengthens local capacity and embeds sustainable skills beyond the funding period.

Duration:  February 2026 - November 2026

Contacts:

• Dr Temitope Omotayo
• Professor Jiamei Deng
• Dr Anderson Akponeware
• Dr Sandra Obiora

This project is funded by Leeds Beckett University through the HEIF Funding to Support Research & Knowledge Exchange. The commercialisation of valupay.ai platform will be in furtherance of Innovate UK and UKRI’s agenda of supporting small and medium scale businesses in the UK to have more smart and greener construction projects. The valupay.ai platform is borne out of the Generative AI-enabled Interim Valuations and Payments through mixed-reality data capture for Quantity Surveying Services (QS-GAI) project. In this project, a mobile application that captures construction cost data for automated interim valuation and payments through a website. Hence, this process reduced carbon footprints and the time frame of valuing contractor’s work. The project targets the UK market with significant returns of investments from quantity surveying consultancies across the country.



Duration: February 2025 - July 2025

Contacts:

• Dr Temitope Omotayo, 
• Professor Jiamei Deng 

This is a research funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), United Kingdom, and the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur to conduct a strategic study of the UK and Malaysian AI opportunities for partnership opportunities. The objective of this initiative is to assess the current landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Malaysia, explore its potential impact on key economic growth sectors, and identify strategic opportunities to enhance bilateral AI collaboration between the United Kingdom and Malaysia. The project will involve Subject Matter Experts (SME) from the UK and Malaysia through Focus Group Discussion (FGD) Workshop and capacity-building for AI research, industry and market opportunities. 



Duration: March 2025 – June 2025

Contact: 

• Dr Temitope Omotayo, 
• Professor Jiamei Deng 
• Dr Anderson Akponeware
  
   

The STEM-PULSE project, a British Council grant under the Going Global Partnerships, is designed to transform gender equality in STEM education and leadership. This initiative captures anecdotal and transversal evidence to understand the barriers and opportunities women face in STEM. The project will launch a Gender Equality cross-cultural network and exchange space, a dynamic community promoting knowledge-sharing, capacity-building, and mentorship. Leveraging on the expertise of FUSP Lab, the STEM-PULSE network will further champion the integration of AI and Machine Learning into STEM education, empowering both institutions.

The project will also include stakeholder engagement workshops to advocate for gender-sensitive policies and institutional reforms that promote inclusion and diversity. Key outcomes include increased representation of women in STEM leadership, reduced subject segregation in traditionally male-dominated STEM disciplines, and strengthened employment pathways for women in STEM fields, contributing to long-term structural and institutional changes in STEM education.

Duration:

January 2025 - December 2025

Contacts

• Dr Anderson Akponeware
• Dr Sandra Obiora

Overview

This research is an Innovate UK feasibility study for AI solutions funded project commencing from October 2024. The QS-GAI project will create a database of interim valuation using mixed reality data capture for quantity surveying services. An automated payment notice for contractors will be produced through generative AI technology. This research will reduce non-physical waste (productivity) and physical such as paperwork on interim valuations and payments. The prototype QS-GAI will aim to enhance productivity and administrative tasks for optimal project performance and client and contractor satisfaction, using historical and live (on-site) data.

Duration:

1 October 2024 to 31 March 2025

Contacts

• Dr Temitope Omotayo
• Professor Jiamei Deng

Overview

This proposed study will create and transfer Generative AI (GAI) knowledge, technical expertise and practises from Leeds Beckett University, UK, to the Middle East Technical University, Turkey, through circular construction procurement studies in a 24-month project. The promotion of circular construction procurement aims to reduce physical and non-physical waste in construction through reuse, minimisation, recycling and recovery practices. This has not been easy to achieve in the SME construction practices of the UK and Turkey. Through the benefits of GAI, which has been applied in construction design, facilities management and cost management to enhance productivity by 40%, circular construction procurement decisions during a project lifecycle can be implemented at a low-cost rate in SMEs. Co-creation and co-design approach through community engagement in both countries with the participation of government agencies, construction SMEs and communities where construction activities will be deployed.

Duration

1 August 2024 to 31 July 2026

Contacts

• Dr Temitope Omotayo
• Professor Jiamei Deng

Overview

The fusion of Generative AI and BIM will reduce the challenge of upskilling new construction professionals, reducing man-hours required to produce construction cost documents, ensuring accuracy and enhancing the competitive advantage of construction SMEs and large enterprises. This proposed study will apply the BIM-GAI feasibility study to develop the BIM-GAIcost web application to produce construction cost estimation documents through a pre-trained database of cost data and support the automation of BIM cost-related documents with accuracy indications to predict and avoid cost overruns in the planning phase. The UK BIM framework and standards would align with the document's early cost advice documentation using the Building Execution Plan (BEP) structure. The web-based GAI for BIMcost application (BIM-GAIcost) would produce a user interface (UI) with prompt option parameters for BIM cost planning.

Duration

March 2024 to March 2025

Contacts

• Dr Temitope Omotayo
• Professor Jiamei Deng
• Dr Anderson Akponeware
• Dr Shariful Shikder
• Dr Ash Ahmed

Overview

This initiative promises to be a transformative step in sustainable construction, leveraging the strengths of the FUSP lab at Leeds Beckett University and the Middle East Technical University by focusing on AI-driven BIM for circularity in construction, the project addresses pressing industry challenges and contributes to the broader SDGs, ensuring a brighter, sustainable future for all.

The proposal will directly address the following SDGs:

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

The CIREN-AI project will produce a two-way knowledge transfer between the FUSP lab on AI and BIM for circularity at Leeds Beckett University, UK and Middle East Technical University, Turkey, for furtherance of collaborative projects.

Duration

January 2024 - December 2024

Contacts

• Dr Temitope Omotayo
• Professor Jiamei Deng

Overview

The BIM-GAI project, funded by Innovate UK, will develop a text-to-task web-based system for early cost advice. It would be used by clients, cost planners and construction procurement experts through a BIM-enabled generative AI approach to predict project costs using live data. A pilot version of BIM-GAI would be produced to meet the productivity needs of SMEs and larger-scale project construction cost management.

Duration

September 2023 to February 2024

Contacts

• Dr Temitope Omotayo
• Professor Jiamei Deng

Overview

The VR-lab at the School of Built Environment Engineering and Computing was delivered to enhance BIM, technology and sustainable construction processes for students and staff. The impact is expected to influence student progressions, retention, applicant recruitment and enhancement in the quality of teaching and learning. The School of Built Environment Engineering and Computing funded this project.

Duration

March 2023 to July 2023

Contacts

• Dr Temitope Omotayo
• Dr Shariful Shikder

Overview

This project studied in smart and sustainable campuses of Leeds and Bloemfontein, South Africa. This study was conducted in collaboration with the management of the University of Cape Town, South Africa and the Central University of Technology. The elements of smart campuses were studied, and a systems thinking approach was used to explicate the procurement and development of smart campuses in Leeds and Bloemfontein, Free State South Africa. A comparative analysis was also made between both cities. The knowledge from this study was transferred to South African Universities and policymakers. The outcome reiterates that smart campuses can create smart cities in developing countries.

Duration

March 2021 to July 2021

Contacts

• Dr Temitope Omotayo