Blanket genius

SCHOOLGIRL RECOGNISED FOR SOLAR HEAT INVENTION

A Scottish schoolgirl has been named one of TIME magazine's first ever 'Girls of the Year', a list announced on 14th August 2025, sponsored by LEGO, aiming to celebrate and empower girls by recognising 10 young leaders who are inspiring communities around the world.

Rebecca Young, 13, was recognised for designing a solar-powered backpack with an electric blanket inside for homeless people which is already being used by a Glasgow-based charity supporting rough sleepers. She was only 11 when, inspired by the freezing winter temperatures that homeless people have to endure, she thought up the idea at school. She then went further and developed a plan and after researching different types of solar panels, wiring and batteries, she ended up winning an engineering award in a UK-wide competition sponsored by Thales.

The blanket is designed to fold away into a backpack, making it easy to carry and is powered by a small solar panel and battery pack, each about the size of a smartphone, ensuring minimal weight is added for the user. Thales initially manufactured 30 of the blankets which were distributed to a homeless shelter in Glasgow earlier this year, and they are now in the process of supplying 150 to six more homeless charities across the region.

"I'm most proud of how the idea is now helping homeless people in real life - which was my inspiration all along - and I hope this can help shine a brighter light on an issue we should all care deeply about," said Young, who has also been turned into a Lego mini-figure as part of the award!

As climate change is exacerbated and people are losing their homes to floods and wild fires around the world, I can't help but think that this invention could be rolled out worldwide as a life-saving addition to disaster response kits ...

Pic credit of Rebecca and the Thales team: Thales