Hancock's blog

Transpower's gift to industry diplomacy

So after 15 years cranking out my blog and podcast for Energy News, I've decided to use the platform to host some new voices and unconventional perspectives to shed some light on how we're going to manage the energy transition. Sophie Burgess "the Accidental Energy Professional" is joining me on the journey.

For the next few weeks, we're talking to Shelley Pearce who's the Director of Engineering NZ's rather wonderful Wonder Project, their free programme for schools, designed to get young Kiwis excited about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Talking about the Power Challenge where year 7 & 8 students design and build a wind turbine and light up their own mini town, we learn about Transpower's role in making the project happen and the hundreds of STEM professionals who are inspiring tamariki around the country as Wonder Project Ambassadors.

If you're interested in being an Ambassador for the next round of the Wonder Project which starts in Term 2 2024, you can sign up here or follow the links above.

More fun than you can imagine

So after 15 years cranking out my blog and podcast for Energy News, I've decided to use the platform to host some new voices and unconventional perspectives to shed some light on how we're going to manage the energy transition. Sophie Burgess "the Accidental Energy Professional" is joining me on the journey.

For the next few weeks, we're talking to Shelley Pearce who's the Director of Engineering NZ's rather wonderful Wonder Project, their free programme for schools, designed to get young Kiwis excited about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

This week, we get onto term 3's project: the Power Challenge where year 7 & 8 students design and build a wind turbine and light up their own mini town. Shelley tells us a bit more about the project and how to get involved.

If you're interested in being an Ambassador for the next round of the Wonder Project which starts in Term 2 2024, you can sign up here or follow the links above.

The Wonder Project

So after 15 years cranking out my blog and podcast for Energy News, I've decided to use the platform to host some new voices and unconventional perspectives to shed some light on how we're going to manage the energy transition. Sophie Burgess "the Accidental Energy Professional" is joining me on the journey.

For the next few weeks, we're talking to Shelley Pearce who's the Director of Engineering NZ's rather wonderful Wonder Project, their free programme for schools, designed to get young Kiwis excited about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

This week, Shelley talks us through the teaching philosophy behind the programme, and how they designed and developed the resources in it to show our tamariki how much fun a career in STEM could be.

If you're interested in being an Ambassador for the next round of the Wonder Project which starts in Term 2 2024, you can sign up here or follow the links above.

Having fun teaching STEM to years 7 & 8

So after 15 years cranking out my blog and podcast for Energy News, I've decided to use the platform to host some new voices and unconventional perspectives to shed some light on how we're going to manage the energy transition. Sophie Burgess "the Accidental Energy Professional" is joining me on the journey.

For the next few weeks, we're talking to Shelley Pearce who's the Director of Engineering NZ's rather wonderful Wonder Project, their free programme for schools, designed to get young Kiwis excited about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

To get us started, Shelley explains what Engineering NZ is and, more excitingly, how the Wonder Project fits in to what they're up to. The first thing they did in it was a Rocket Challenge!

If you're interested in being an Ambassador for the next round of the Wonder Project which starts in Term 2 2024, you can sign up here or follow the links above.

Sponsorship and shoulder tapping

So after 15 years cranking out my blog and podcast for Energy News, I've decided to use the platform to host some new voices and unconventional perspectives to shed some light on how we're going to manage the energy transition.

I've recruited some help to get me started: for the next few weeks, Sophie Burgess "the Accidental Energy Professional" and Esther Tomkinson who's the co-Chair of the Young Energy Professionals Network will be joining me as we start the journey.

This week they talk about the role that older, more established industry participants can play in advancing diversity and inclusion in the sector.

Diverse routes to new perspectives

So after 15 years cranking out my blog and podcast for Energy News, I've decided to use the platform to host some new voices and unconventional perspectives to shed some light on how we're going to manage the energy transition.

I've recruited some help to get me started: for the next few weeks, Sophie Burgess "the Accidental Energy Professional" and Esther Tomkinson who's the co-Chair of the Young Energy Professionals Network will be joining me as we start the journey.

This week they explore how diverse perspectives can be the source of valuable innovation and the role that might play in our future.

It could be anyone with less than 15 years experience in the sector!

So after 15 years cranking out my blog and podcast for Energy News, I've decided to use the platform to host some new voices and unconventional perspectives to shed some light on how we're going to manage the energy transition.

I've recruited some help to get me started: for the next few weeks, Sophie Burgess "the Accidental Energy Professional" and Esther Tomkinson who's the co-Chair of the Young Energy Professionals Network will be joining me as we start the journey.

This week they reflect on what a healthy sort of diversity in the sector might look like and share a few hopes for the future.

More common than you'd think

So after 15 years cranking out my blog and podcast for Energy News, I've decided to use the platform to host some new voices and unconventional perspectives to shed some light on how we're going to manage the energy transition.

I've recruited some help to get me started: for the next few weeks, Sophie Burgess "the Accidental Energy Professional" and Esther Tomkinson who's the co-Chair of the Young Energy Professionals Network will be joining me as we start the journey.

This week we get to know them both and the non-linear paths that they followed into the sector – which may provide a few clues about where we're going to find the talent we'll need to manage the challenges of the next decade.

Time to move over

So after 15 years cranking out my blog and podcast for Energy News, I've been wondering what to do next – most of the themes I've been following have played out and are quite mainstream these days: digital disruption, democratisation, exponential technologies, decarbonisation and market reform.

But I've a lot of loyal readers and listeners on the platform and it seems a bit daft just to pull up stumps and head off into the sunset. Talking it out, I've been encouraged to think that I can use the platform to host some new voices and unconventional perspectives to shed some light on how we're going to manage the energy transition.

So I've recruited some help to get me started: for the next few weeks, Sophie Burgess "the Accidental Energy Professional" and Esther Tomkinson who's the co-Chair of the Young Energy Professionals Network will be joining me as we start the journey.

We're talking to Anna Berka, a Massey University lecturer with an interest in community energy.

She was responsible for the incredible New Zealand Aotearoa Community Energy Dataset, a register of all local or community owned renewable energy initiatives in New Zealand that covers everything from consumer trust-owned networks to community and Iwi-owned renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

Wrapping up our three-month exploration of community energy, I ask Anna to get her crystal ball out and tell us what we can expect to see next.

She's not too optimistic. Unusually I am …