Innovation in Energy: AI, Analytics, and Career Pathways

Abstract

Join us for three engaging mini-talks exploring cutting-edge research and practical career insights at EDF Energy. Our speakers will share highlights from their work in machine learning and AI applied to real-world challenges, followed by actionable advice for navigating the transition from university into the tech industry.

Talks include:

1. Qian Li: Improving offshore wind operational decision-making and metocean prediction with machine learning.
2. Stella Hadfield: Leveraging a Snowflake AI-powered chatbot to support Sunday Saver campaign customer queries.
3. Trishia Amores: How to break into the tech industry – tips from an EDF Data and Tech Graduate.

Speaker biographies

Qian Li is a Lead Research Engineer at EDF UK R&D (since April 2024), specialising in offshore wind operations and marine logistics under challenging weather and safety constraints. Her work combines numerical simulation and AI/ML techniques to improve decision-making, reliability, and cost-efficiency for offshore wind projects. She supports a wide range of operational topics including installation of foundations, turbines and cables, major component replacement (e.g., gearboxes and blades), crew transfer, subsea inspection/ROV activities, and decommissioning. Prior to joining EDF, Qian worked as a research fellow at City, University of London, and the University of Edinburgh, with a research background in fluid–structure interaction for renewable energy systems.

Stella Hadfield is a second-year Data and Technology Graduate, who has experienced 6-month placements in MLOps/DevOps in EDF's Enterprise Technology team, full-stack software engineering within Business Solutions, and is currently in her third placement alongside Trishia in Consumption Analytics. She has worked on several projects including developing data ingestion pipelines, building APIs, and creating web applications. She graduated from Neuroscience and Psychology at King’s College London in 2023 which sparked her love of programming, before moving onto a brief stint in a tech startup as a Data Administrator. She also enjoys taking part in widening participation initiatives to encourage Women and other minority backgrounds to pursue STEM careers.

Trishia Amores is a first-year Data and Technology Graduate on a two-year scheme, completing four six-month rotations across data and software teams. Her first placement has been in data, working with the Consumption Analytics team in Retail on consumer products such as EV smart charging, and she will soon move into a software placement focused on backend projects. Coming from a non-traditional tech background, Trishia graduated in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Warwick and has worked across a range of industries including sales, marketing, and audit before moving into tech. Having these varied experiences have helped her break into the tech industry.