Project Overview
HalesAir is a seven-month STEM partnership project (January to July 2026) bringing together Halesowen College’s Digital T Level (Data Analytics) programme and Dr James Williams as the STEM Partner. The project aims to investigate hyper-local air quality in the Halesowen area, where no previous monitoring data existed.
Student-Led Pipeline
Students take ownership of the entire scientific process:
- Design & Planning: Designing sensor enclosures and selecting strategic deployment sites around the college campus.
- Hardware Assembly: Assembling Raspberry Pi Pico W units equipped with Waveshare BME680 environmental sensors.
- Data Deployment: Installing units at five locations to monitor real-time environmental parameters over seven months.
- Analysis & Visualization: Collecting and cleaning data to build interactive dashboards and data visualisations.
- Community Impact: Presenting evidence-based recommendations to local stakeholders and community groups.
Mentorship & Partnership
This project is supported by a Royal Society Partnership Grant. It was initiated by Dr James Williams during his tenure at Birmingham Newman University and continues as a collaborative effort with Halesowen College leading the delivery and Dr Williams providing academic mentorship in data science methodology and statistical analysis.
