Digital Power and the Race for Industrial Advantage

Speaker: Professor Bicky Bhangu, OBE

Visiting Professor, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Sheffield

Event details: 10th December, 17:30-18:30. The Diamond, Lecture Theatre 6.

Guests are invited to arrive from 5:00 PM. The talk will commence promptly at 5:30 PM and conclude at 6:30 PM. A drinks reception and networking opportunity will follow immediately thereafter.

Digital Power and the Race for Industrial Advantage

This presentation will focus on how the convergence of digital intelligence, clean energy and industrial policy is reshaping the foundations of global competitiveness and sustainability. Framed around the idea of Digital Power, the lecture will explore the shift from past industrial revolutions powered by steam and electricity to a new era driven by data, decarbonisation and strategic investment.

Through examples from technology innovation, engineering, aerospace and national energy transitions, the lecture highlights four megatrends from electrification, digitisation, decentralisation and decarbonisation and examines their influence on energy security, productivity and economic growth. It will also address how artificial intelligence is transforming material discovery, system optimisation and industrial efficiency, while raising new challenges in energy use, ethics and resilience.

Collaboration between engineers, policymakers and investors will be essential to ensure that digital power is not just a technological shift but a force for inclusive and sustainable progress.

Speaker Biography

Professor Bicky Bhangu is an executive leader and technology strategist with global experience across the aerospace, defence, industrial and energy sectors. He is currently an Operating Partner with Temasek International, an investment company, focusing on emerging technologies, industrial innovation and the energy transition. Previously, over an 18-year career at Rolls-Royce, he served as President – South East Asia, Pacific and South Korea, where he led growth in new business and operational capability, shaped industrial strategy with governments and partners and drove large-scale transformation across diverse ASEAN and Asia-Pacific markets.

Bicky serves as President of the United Nations Global Compact Network Singapore and has held roles on over 30 boards and advisory councils across government, industry, education and sustainability. His current board appointments include the Land Transport Authority of Singapore, the Singapore National Employers Federation and Singapore Polytechnic, as well as multiple government panels across the region advising on sustainability, technology, education and future economy strategies.

A Sheffield alumnus, Bicky holds a PhD in Electrical Power Machines and Drives and an MSc in Control Systems Engineering from the University of Sheffield, along with a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Nottingham and an MBA in Technology Management. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (FIET) and the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS) and an Adjunct Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

In recognition of his contributions to international trade, innovation and sustainability, he was awarded an OBE in 2019 and honorary doctorates by both the University of Sheffield and the University of Nottingham in 2024. He brings a distinctive combination of technical depth, board-level governance and intercultural leadership to aligning industrial innovation with long-term societal impact.