University of Birmingham student interns help to deliver successful events marking bus centenary
Two of our students worked with local partner Number 11 Arts to celebrate 100 years of the Birmingham No. 11 bus, Europe’s longest urban bus route.
April 2026 marked the 100th anniversary of Birmingham’s No.11 bus, locally known as the Outer Circle and popularly believed to be Europe’s longest urban bus route.
To mark the event, local arts organisation Number 11 Arts delivered a programme of events from the official anniversary date in April through to Birmingham’s Healing Arts Festival at the end of June.
To deliver the commemorative events, Number 11 Arts partnered with the University of Birmingham, as a member of its Culture Forward initiative, to successfully bid for two student interns to research, develop and deliver key activities.
These internships were funded through the Alumni Impact Fund, supported by the University’s generous donor community and open to proposals from across the University for projects that enhance student experience or enrich their learning.
Student interns Sienna Curness (BA English Literature and Film) and Helen Cartledge (MA History) joined the project from April to July, leading on specific events and activities. They researched the history of the route and planned and delivered a series of oral history recording sessions, capturing local community memories and experiences of using the bus. They then developed these recordings into shareable and downloadable content on the Overhear app for commuters and passengers on the 11A and 11C services to enjoy. The content included poems and stories inspired by the route and the people who have travelled it, past and present.
Sienna and Helen also helped to deliver two events in the Healing Arts Birmingham programme: a schools-focused event in Centenary Square in Birmingham city centre and a creative networking reception for for emerging creatives, freelancers and early-career practitioners, held at the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC).
Sienna has said of the internship: “Knowing that the work I had produced would continue to reach audiences beyond the events themselves reinforced the value of creating accessible digital content for community engagement. Most importantly, it was satisfying to see the project evolve from an initial idea into a successful public event, and to witness the positive impact it had on the communities it was designed to celebrate.”
Helen said: “Working with local communities face-to-face was extremely rewarding. The internship gave me the opportunity to hear stories first-hand and deep dive into local history, learning more about the history of the bus and the route, finding out how it has impacted people over the years. Over the past few weeks, I have learned a lot about working independently, setting my own workload, managing my time and exploring creative delivery.”
Gurminder Sehint, Director and Coordinator of Number 11 Arts, said: “Sienna and Helen made an outstanding contribution to celebrating the centenary of Birmingham's iconic No. 11 bus route. Through their research, creativity and engagement with local communities, they helped bring the rich history of the Outer Circle to life in meaningful and accessible ways. From capturing oral histories to delivering public events and creating lasting digital content, their work demonstrates the real impact that student internships can have, both for our students' professional development and for the communities we work alongside. We're delighted that the Alumni Impact Fund enabled these talented students to play such a central role in this landmark celebration.”
Culture Forward is a University-convened network of Birmingham and West Midlands-based arts, cultural, creative and community organisations. Culture Forward provides a forum for the University to work collaboratively with these sectors locally and regionally across research projects, public programmes, community engagement and student opportunities.
The Alumni Impact Fund, philanthropically supported by the University’s generous alumni and donors, is open to expressions of interest from staff at both our Edgbaston and Dubai campuses for student-focused projects that have a positive impact on teaching, learning, student experience, outreach and the academic endeavour. A big thank you to everyone who has supported the Alumni Impact Fund over the years!
Number 11 Arts is an umbrella organisation created to support, enrich and advocate for Birmingham’s extensive network of neighbourhood arts forums.