Avangrid’s Inaugural Prompt-a-thon Advances People Centric AI Literacy for Early Career Professionals

ORANGE, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 1, 2026--

Avangrid, Inc., a leading energy company and member of the Iberdrola Group, announced the successful execution of its inaugural Prompt‑a‑thon, a first‑of‑its‑kind, half‑day, early career designed learning event designed to strengthen AI prompting skills and applied AI literacy across the organization. The event brought together early‑career employees from Avangrid’s Global Graduate Program to work in teams addressing business challenges using generative AI tools.

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“Avangrid’s first ever Prompt-a-thon is an important step in our company embracing artificial intelligence as a strategic tool to make smarter, more efficient business decisions,” José Antonio Miranda, Avangrid CEO. “By equipping our early career professions with the skills to apply AI responsibly, we are advancing innovation and building the expertise that will move Avangrid and the energy landscape into the future.”

“Avangrid’s inaugural, people-centric Prompt‑a‑thon reflects how we can upskill collaboration skills with artificial intelligence into the way we co-think, co-learn, and co-solve problems,” said Ignacio Estella, Senior Vice President of Innovation, Talent, Performance and Equal Opportunity at Avangrid. “By giving agency to our early‑career professionals with hands‑on experience using generative AI, we support talent driven building future proof critical skills. This initiative has required innovation, collaboration, and responsible AI adoption, and it directly supports how we can work better. measurably better.”

Teams were provided with specific prompting challenges and assigned to solve real industry problems. They utilized Microsoft Copilot to analyze business datasets, generate visuals to support findings, summarize insights for leadership, and propose business recommendations. As part of the competition, teams also explained how they integrated AI into their workflows, sharing their prompting strategy.

Business challenges were sourced from across the organization, including Network Operations, Power, and Customer Service, ensuring the work remains directly connected to real operational priorities. The three challenges presented were:

"Participating in the event was a greatly energizing experience that showed how AI can be both accessible and impactful when applied as a team. By combining AI driven streamlining with strong human judgment, we transformed EV usage survey data into actionable insights, enabling smarter analysis and more strategic decision making for companies like Avangrid,” said Alejandra Eguireun Vazquez & Juan de Neira Ortiz de Urbina from the EV Adoption Challenge Winning Team.

"Using an artificial intelligence tool to do a quick data analysis & put together a presentation during the Prompt-a-thon showed our team both its strengths & weaknesses. One strength is undeniable speed whereas this would have taken a longer time if done manually. But one weakness is the echo of what Jose Antonio and Ignacio Estella repeated to us; we are the agent in charge of the AI tool's output. Without us, quality, accuracy and efficiency may be lacking when using the tool. Moving forward, we look forward to navigating AI strengths and challenges in our everyday workflow,” said Emma Keeling, from the Down Turbine Challenge Winning Team.

"By combining our team’s creativity with AI, we developed a concept aimed at improving the customer experience and we appreciate having had the opportunity to participate in the prompt-a-thon,” said Lyndsay Fenn, from the Customer Experience Challenge Winning Team.

A panel of four Avangrid leaders and subject matter experts served as judges for the competition including: Nelly Jefferson, Chief Data and AI Officer, Jorge Aith, Vice President of Processes & Technologies, Eduardo De Frutos, Chief Information Officer, and Ignacio Estella, Senior Vice President of Innovation, Talent, Performance and Equal Opportunity.

The half-day event combined a keynote, an interactive workshop, and the team‑based problem-solving competition. It was moderated by Wei Chen, Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Business, who delivered a keynote on the evolving role of AI in the workforce, effective prompting strategies, and responsible AI adoption.

The Prompt-a-thon is a part of a two-day event for Avangrid’s Graduates program focused on initiative and change. On the first day of the two-day event, participants had full day workshop based on the Prosci ADKAR change methodology.

The purpose of Avangrid’s Early Career Program is to develop recent graduates into future leaders and technical specialists. The program emphasizes development initiatives, promotes collaboration, critical thinking, diverse perspectives, and encourages innovation, all while supporting the company’s sustainability goals.

Through the program, graduates rotate through two to three assignments within their business area. They build connections with subject matter experts, mentors and peers from their cohort. They participate in professional development workshops on foundational soft skills including giving and receiving feedback, communication, focusing on results, continuous improvement and working with a customer centric approach.

There are currently 55 graduates in the program across five states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Maine, and Oregon.

About Avangrid: Avangrid, Inc. is a leading energy company in the United States working to meet the growing demand for energy for homes and businesses across the nation through service, innovation, and continued investments by expanding grid infrastructure and energy generation projects. Avangrid has offices in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and Oregon, including operations in 25 states with approximately $50 billion in assets. Avangrid owns and operates seven electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.4 million customers in New York and New England. It also owns and operates nearly 100 energy generation facilities across the United States producing more than 11 GW of power for over 3 million customers. Avangrid employs approximately 8,500 people and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2026 for the eighth consecutive year by the Ethisphere Institute. Avangrid is a member of the group of companies controlled by Iberdrola, S.A. For more information, visit http://www.avangrid.com

Pictured: Avangrid CEO Jose Antonio Miranda with one of the winning teams. From Left to Right: D’asia Johnson, Stephen Bauer, Freddherck Leny, Emma Keeling.

LONDON (AP) — A 45-year-old man was charged Friday with attempted murder in the stabbings of two Jewish men in London, the latest in a string of attacks that have sparked fear and anger in Britain's Jewish community.

Essa Suleiman was remanded into custody after appearing in Westminster Magistrates' Court to face two counts related to the attack in Golders Green. He also faces a third count of attempted murder over an incident elsewhere in the city earlier Wednesday that left a man with minor injuries.

Police have labeled the Golders Green attack an act of terrorism.

Suleiman, a Somalia-born British citizen who lives in London, did not enter a plea. His case was transferred to the Central Criminal Court for a May 15 hearing.

Prosecutor Emma Harraway said Suleiman attacked Ishmail Hussein, his friend of 20 years, in south London before taking a train to the north part of the city where he targeted Jews hours later.

Shloime Rand, 34, was stabbed in the chest outside a synagogue, puncturing his lung, and Norman Shine, 76, who was wearing a traditional Jewish skullcap, was stabbed in the neck at a bus stop.

“As Mr. Shine adjusted his kippah, Suleiman ran towards him and set upon him, launching a series of aggressive blows," Harraway said.

Rand was discharged from the hospital and Shine is in stable condition.

Police said Suleiman was referred in 2020 to the government’s Prevent program, which tries to steer individuals away from extremism. The police force said his file was closed later the same year, and didn’t disclose the reason for the referral.

The British government pledged to tackle antisemitism after the stabbings in an area in north London that is an epicenter of Britain’s Jewish community. The assault followed a string of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in London in recent weeks.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his government would increase security for the Jewish community and “do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out.”

Britain’s official terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe after Wednesday’s stabbing attack. Severe is the second-highest rung on a five-point scale and means intelligence agencies consider an attack highly likely in the next six months.

The government said the change was not due solely to the Golders Green attack but also due to increased danger “from Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the U.K.”

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, right, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, 2nd left, speak with members of the Jewish community during a visit to Golders Green, north west London, Thursday April 30, 2026, following an attack on Wednesday in which two men were stabbed. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)

Police on duty outside Golders Green tube station in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026, near the scene where two people were recently stabbed in the Golders Green neighbourhood, that has a large Jewish community. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Two men walk in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026, near the scene where two people were recently stabbed in the Golders Green neighbourhood, that has a large Jewish community. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

People look out of a window near the scene where two people were stabbed the previous day in the Golders Green neighbourhood, which has a large Jewish community, in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)