Sixth-former’s AI-powered accessibility app praised in global competition backed by mighty MIT

QE AI supremo Paarth Aggarwal is celebrating after his latest app won plaudits in a competition linked to the world’s top-ranked university.

His SafeEat smartphone scanner for elderly and visually impaired users was one of just seven out of 2,176 entries in the Global Appathon to receive ‘honourable mentions’ alongside the winners.

The competition, which drew entries from more than 140 countries and regions, required participants to link their apps to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Year 12 pupil Paarth, who has been invited to attend next month’s MIT App Inventor Global Education Summit at the MIT Stata Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has enjoyed a string of AI competition successes, including taking first prize for his age category among UK entrants in Intel’s AI Global Impact Festival in both 2024 and 2025.

QE’s Head of Technology, Bilaal Khan, said: “It is exciting to see our pupils at the forefront of technological development: my congratulations go to Paarth on another noteworthy achievement.”

SafeEat is an AI-powered food ingredient list scanner designed to help elderly and visually impaired users make informed food choices based on their personal allergies, intolerances, and dietary restrictions.

The app makes ingredient labels easier to understand, and helps users determine whether a product is safe to eat.

To build their apps, competition entrants had to use the MIT App Inventor – a free tool developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, currently ranked number one in the QS world university rankings.

Paarth submitted a three-minute video about the app, in which he not only explained what it could do, but also demonstrated it live to a potential user in a local supermarket.

His commendation certificate was signed by Professor Hal Abelson, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, and Dr Natalie Lao, Executive Director of the App Inventor Foundation.

Paarth said: “A single mistake on a food label can trigger a life-threatening allergic reaction, but technology has the power to change that. I am incredibly honoured that my app, SafeEat, won the honourable mention for accessibility.”