Pupil who invented device to help homeless named ‘girl of the year’

A Glasgow school pupil has been named among Time magazine’s girls of the year for inventing a device to help homeless people keep warm.

Rebecca Young, now aged 13, designed a solar-powered blanket, which 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.

Rebecca first came up with the idea when she was aged12 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 chief executive 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 – an acronym for 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.”

However Rebecca herself is aiming for a career in a different field rather than engineering, as she would like to be a musician when she is older.

Colin McInnes, the founder of Homeless Project Scotland, said the initiative had already been 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.”

• Rutendo Shadaya, 17, an advocate for young authors in New Zealand
• Coco Yoshizawa, 15, an Olympic gold-medalist in Japan
• Valerie Chiu, 15, a global science educator in China
• Zoé Clauzure, 15, an anti-bullying campaigner in France
• Clara Proksch, 12, a scientist prioritizing child safety in Germany
• Ivanna Richards, 17, a racing driver breaking stereotypes in Mexico
• Kornelia Wieczorek, 17, a biotech innovator in Poland
• Defne Özcan, 17, a trailblazing pilot in Turkey
• Naomi S. DeBerry, 12, an organ donation advocate and children’s book author in the United States