Rebecca Young: TIME's Girls of the Year List
Young's design—a solar-powered backpack with an electric blanket inside—ended up winning an engineering award in a U.K.-wide competition with 70,000 entrants. It wasn't just an idea: Young researched different types of solar panels, wiring, and batteries, and drew up a detailed blueprint. The engineering firm Thales, which sponsored the competition, subsequently manufactured 30 of the blankets which were distributed to a homeless shelter in Glasgow earlier this year, Young says. There are plans to make 120 more. 'I'm very proud,' says her mother Louise.
The homelessness problem won't be solved with blankets alone, but for 12-year-old Young, the experience was a first taste of how engineering in practice. 'It helped me see a different aspect of engineering, and how it could actually help people,' she says. 'That definitely helped inspire me.'
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A Glasgow school pupil has been named among Time magazine's girls of the year for inventing a device to help homeless people warm. Rebecca Young, 12, designed a solar-powered blanket, which an engineering firm Thales then turned into reality. The Kelvinside Academy pupil is now among 10 girls from across the world selected by Time who have inspired and helped communities. She told BBC Scotland News that she was shocked and honoured by the recognition, which has also seen her turned into a Lego mini-figure, due to the awards being run in partnership with the Danish toy manufacturer. More stories from Glasgow & West Scotland More stories from Scotland Rebecca first came up with the idea while attending an engineering club at school. She explained: "Seeing all the homeless people, it made me want to help – it's a problem that should be fixed. "During the day, the heat from the sun can energise the solar panels and they go into a battery pack that can store the heat. When it's cold at night people can use the energy stored in the battery pack to sleep on. "In Glasgow it can be freezing at night and they [homeless people] will have no power, so I thought the solar panel could heat it." Rebecca's idea came out on top in the UK Primary Engineer competition, where more than 70,000 pupils entered ideas aimed around addressing a social issue. Engineering company Thales then turned the idea into a working prototype, with 35 units given to Homeless Project Scotland to use in Glasgow. That achievement led Rebecca to a spot on TIME's list, which the magazine's CEO Jessica Sibley said highlights "those who are turning imagination into real-world impact". Rebecca's mum Louise told BBC Scotland News: "I couldn't be more proud, it's fantastic. It's obviously all come from a drawing and going from that to it actually being made is amazing." As part of the honour, Rebecca and the other nine winners are appearing on a digital cover of the famous magazine, where they are styled as Lego mini-figures - something the 12-year-old said was both "really cool and crazy". She also had advice for any other girls who wanted to get involved in STEM subjects, meaning science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Rebecca said: "If you have an idea like I did, then join clubs and talk to people about it, it helps." Reflecting on the TIME magazine recognition, she added: "All my friends think it's awesome." Colin McInnes, the founder of Homeless Project Scotland, said the initiative had already proven successful. He added: "When somebody is having to rough sleep because the shelter is full, we can offer that comfort to a homeless person, of having a warm blanket to wrap around them during the night. "We would 100% take the opportunity to have more of them." Daniel Wyatt, the rector at Kelvinside Academy, said Rebecca was a "shining example of a caring young person". He added: "She is also a role model for any young person who wants to follow their own path in life." Women in tech groups 'can't run on inspiration alone' How NI's STEM industry is tackling its gender gap Girls in England lag behind boys in maths and science study
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Rebecca Young: TIME's Girls of the Year List
In the middle of winter, temperatures in the Scottish city of Glasgow can drop as low as 17 degrees Fahrenheit. For anybody unfortunate enough to be sleeping on the streets, those conditions could quickly become deadly. That fact was on Rebecca Young's mind when the schoolgirl, then 11 years old, was asked during a club at school to come up with an idea focused on helping people. Young's design—a solar-powered backpack with an electric blanket inside—ended up winning an engineering award in a U.K.-wide competition with 70,000 entrants. It wasn't just an idea: Young researched different types of solar panels, wiring, and batteries, and drew up a detailed blueprint. The engineering firm Thales, which sponsored the competition, subsequently manufactured 30 of the blankets which were distributed to a homeless shelter in Glasgow earlier this year, Young says. There are plans to make 120 more. 'I'm very proud,' says her mother Louise. The homelessness problem won't be solved with blankets alone, but for 12-year-old Young, the experience was a first taste of how engineering in practice. 'It helped me see a different aspect of engineering, and how it could actually help people,' she says. 'That definitely helped inspire me.'
