This week, Jethro Browell, Professor of Statistics and Data Analytics at the University of Glasgow in the School of Maths and Statistics, joins Adam to discuss the importance of universities in nurturing the talent that will transform the energy sector.

Jethro discusses his academic journey from his mathematics background and how he is now looking at its practical application in the energy sector. He and Adam discuss the joint responsibilities of both universities and the energy industry itself to attract talent and equip individuals with the skills needed to advance in an increasingly high-profile sector.

From the role of hackathons and forecasting competitions to how universities grapple with teaching emerging technologies, the conversation covers the intersection of academia and the energy industry and why it is so key. Jethro talks about how changes in the availability of data are allowing better research to come from universities and how the evolution of models like AI weather forecasting will have a profound impact moving forward.

In this episode, Adam and Jethro cover:

• Attracting talent with the right skills to the energy industry
• The impact of forecasting competitions on innovation
• Teaching technologies that are still developing
• The development of “weather-led” energy systems
• Democratising access to accurate predictions with emerging technologies

The weekly Hypercube podcast sits down with leaders in the energy and utilities sectors to explore how data analytics can help businesses make smarter decisions and accelerate business growth.

Chapter Markers

[0:43] Introduction to Jethro, his career in academia, and what led him to focus on energy forecasting.

[2:52] Adam and Jethro explore whether universities are approaching subjects in the right way to prepare people for roles in the industry.

[5:22] What does the energy sector itself need to do to attract the best talent?

[7:14] Changes in data accessibility and the impact this has on researchers and innovation.

[10:10] Advice for researchers and those aspiring to follow in Jethro’s footsteps of academia.

[12:29] How energy forecasting and trading competitions have changed and what they do for the industry.

[19:09] The emergence of AI weather models and how they can be utilised for energy forecasting.

[20:58] Adam asks which technologies and trends will be most impactful over the next few years.

[23:15] How universities grapple with teaching emerging technologies, in particular, Large Language Models.

[25:42] Jethro explains where you can find out more about his research and upcoming University of Glasgow initiatives.