On 06th February 2026, the Department of Information Science & Engineering (ISE) and the Department of Computer Science & Design (CSD), in association with the Institute’s Innovation Cell (IIC), organized an activity titled “Showcasing AI Excellence: Student Innovation Projects.” The program was conducted at the Ethnotech Lab at 11:00 AM.

This initiative was organized as part of the AICTE – Campus AI Short Video Competition, under the theme “Student AI Projects Showcase.” As per the competition guidelines, institutions were invited to submit short, high-quality videos highlighting AI initiatives developed on campus. In alignment with the given criteria, a team of three students presented their AI-based innovation project and recorded a structured video in landscape (16:9) format, ensuring Full HD (1080p) quality. All essential video guidelines were strictly followed, including maintaining aesthetic presentation and avoiding embedded logos or watermarks within the video content.

The showcased project focused on the development of an Intelligent Coral Reef Health Classification System using Machine Learning, specifically a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model. The project addressed the growing global concern of coral reef degradation caused by climate change, rising sea surface temperatures, ocean acidification, and pollution. Recognizing the limitations of traditional manual underwater monitoring methods, the team proposed an automated image-based coral health classification system.

The students utilized a coral image dataset and applied preprocessing techniques such as image resizing, normalization, and data augmentation to enhance model performance. The CNN model was trained to extract key visual features including texture, color variations, and structural patterns to classify coral reefs into healthy and unhealthy categories. Model performance was evaluated using accuracy metrics and a confusion matrix to ensure reliability and effectiveness.

The project demonstrated strong real-world applicability. The system can assist marine conservation agencies in large-scale reef monitoring, support researchers in analyzing extensive image datasets, and provide early detection of reef degradation. This contributes to protecting marine biodiversity, supporting coastal livelihoods dependent on fisheries and tourism, and strengthening shoreline protection. The project also highlighted the broader impact of coral ecosystems in medical research and environmental sustainability.

The event was conducted under the leadership and encouragement of Dr. Shrinivasa Mayya D, Principal, Srinivas Institute of Technology. Valuable support and guidance were extended by Prof. Sudarshan K., HOD, ISE & CSD. The activity was coordinated under IIC by Dr. Praveen Shenoy, IIC Coordinator. Academic guidance was provided by Prof. Sowmya, ISE Staff Advisor, and Prof. Archana D, CSD Staff Advisor. The event was efficiently coordinated by Prof. Aparna N, Staff Coordinator, and Prof. Sahana B, Staff Coordinator, ensuring smooth execution of the activity.