Founder18
Rebecca Young
13 Y/O•Glasgow, Scotland, UK•Other

Rebecca Young

Named to TIME’s inaugural Girls of the Year list (2025) at age 12 for designing a solar-powered heated blanket backpack that won the UK Primary Engineer competition (70,000+ entries) and was prototyped by Thales for Homeless Project Scotland — TIME and BBC Scotland (Aug 2025).

What they built

Designed a solar-powered heated blanket built into a backpack to keep rough sleepers warm during freezing winter nights. The backpack's solar panels charge an internal battery pack during the day, which then powers an electric blanket at night — requiring no electricity grid access. Rebecca conceived the idea at age 11–12 after observing homeless people sleeping on cold Glasgow streets. Her design won the UK Primary Engineer competition out of over 70,000 national entries; engineering firm Thales manufactured 35 units, which have been deployed with Homeless Project Scotland in Glasgow, with 120 more planned for production.

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The F18 Thesis

Verified track record

  • BBC Scotland News — "Pupil who invented device to help homeless named 'girl of the year'" (Aug 14, 2025) (source)
  • The Guardian — "Scottish pupil named a Time magazine girl of the year for solar-powered blanket design" (Aug 14, 2025) (source)
  • TIME Magazine Girls of the Year 2025 official profile (source)
  • MyModernMet — "13-Year-Old Honored in TIME's First-Ever 'Girl of the Year' for Invention Helping Unhoused People" (Aug 29, 2025) (source)
  • IMechE — "Glasgow pupil's solar-powered backpack brings warmth to those in need" (source)
  • Scottish Housing News (Aug 15, 2025) (source)
  • BBC Newsround (source)
Updated April 27, 2026