Young Innovators Celebrated at #DigiInventors Challenge 2025 Award Ceremony
- May 1
- 4 min read
Updated: May 7
Young Innovators Shine at #DigiInventors Challenge 2025 Awards as SSERC Announced as New National Partner.
The City of Glasgow College was buzzing with excitement last night as pupils, parents, and educators gathered for the 2025 #DigiInventors Challenge Primary School Edition Awards Ceremony. The event, hosted in partnership with DHI, RAiSE, City of Glasgow College, and now proudly joined by SSERC, recognised the standout digital health ideas created by primary school pupils across Scotland.
Now in its third year, the Challenge received 68 submissions from over 200 pupils across Scotland. The initiative encourages young people to explore careers in digital health and social care while building entrepreneurial and STEM skills for the future.
Meet the 2025 Winners
Taking home the top prizes were three inspiring teams:
Multi-ColourZ (Newton Farm Primary, South Lanarkshire)
A groundbreaking app to support young people with colour blindness, featuring colour overlays, AI voice support, customisable settings, and a full colour reference and advice hub.
JH Grow and Glow (Wellington School, South Ayrshire)
An engaging wellbeing app for children aged 5–12, supporting healthy habits in sleep, nutrition, hydration, and exercise – all guided by a friendly avatar called Glow.
Sweet Tooth (Carolside Primary, East Renfrewshire)
An innovative dental care app for young people with braces, using Bluetooth chips to allow orthodontists to monitor oral hygiene remotely.
Each winning team received a trophy, a goodie bag, and their very own Sphero Indi - a play-based robot that teaches the foundations of coding and problem-solving through imaginative exploration.
Grant Reilly, who leads the #DigiInventors Challenge said
“It’s been incredible to see the thought, passion and technical creativity these young innovators have shown. Every idea tackled a real-world challenge with empathy and innovation.”
Runners-Up with Bold Ideas
The high quality of entries made judging exceptionally difficult. This year’s runner-up teams also impressed with solutions to a range of health and wellbeing challenges:
Wraparitis - a heated arthritis blanket connected to an app for joint pain relief
Nelly & Bert Autism Heroes - a fun, supportive app featuring AI animal companions for autistic young people
Fun Bud - an ADHD support watch with calming features and interactive apps
We were proud to acknowledge a number of teams who received Special Recognition for their creativity, innovation, and thoughtful design.
From ideas supporting prosthetic care and asthma to tools for managing anxiety and ADHD, these pupils impressed judges with their compassion and ingenuity:
Prosthetic Cheetah – Kirkhill Primary School, West Lothian (Prosthetic care)
Smile, Don’t Cry – Kirkhill Primary School, West Lothian (Asthma)
J&J Westpark – Westpark Primary School, Aberdeen (Anxiety)
ADHD Watch – King’s Park Primary School, Glasgow (Mental health support)
In a significant development, SSERC has officially joined as a collaboration partner through their Young STEM Leader Programme. As Scotland’s national provider of STEM education support, SSERC’s involvement will give even greater recognition to the pupils’ achievements. Through the partnership, all #DigiInventors Challenge participants, not just winners, will now be eligible to apply for a Young STEM Leader (YSL) Award.
The YSL Award, developed by SSERC, helps young people develop leadership and communication skills by giving them opportunities to inspire others in STEM. By submitting an entry to the Challenge, pupils can now progress toward formal recognition of their innovation and boost their STEM learning journey.
Sharon Macnab, Programme Manager, Young STEM Leader Programme, at SSERC, said:
The Young STEM Leader Programme (YSLP) is an exciting award that aims to spark greater interest and participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) among young people in Scotland and where young people can inspire, lead and mentor their peers through creating and delivering STEM activities and events.
The #DigiInventors Challenge is a great way for young people to think about STEM in a real-life context and share their ideas in an inspirational way. Working with the team at #DigiInventors has been a pleasure, and through our Auto Awards programme, the young people involved now also achieve a Young STEM Leader Award at Level 2, further recognising their hard work
Throughout the evening, guests heard from key figures including Gillian Reilly from RAiSE and Dr Sharon Macnab from SSERC, who highlighted the importance of nurturing digital skills in primary education - especially as 60% of children in P1 today will grow up to work in jobs that don’t yet exist.
This year’s Challenge not only celebrated great ideas - it helped spark curiosity, build confidence, and connect young learners to the real-world potential of careers in tech and healthcare.
Stuart McDowall, Head of Innovation & STEM at City of Glasgow College, said:
City of Glasgow College is proud to be the education partner of the #DigiInventors Challenge, and congratulations to all the young innovators who won awards at tonight’s 2025 #DigiInventors Primary School Edition Awards Ceremony.
Supporting initiatives like #DigiInventors not only creates tangible opportunities for young people, but it also signifies the inspirational opportunities partners across the innovation ecosystem can provide when we work together. A huge thanks to the DHI team for their continued passion and support for this unique competition.
Thank you to our partners for their continued support in running the competition.
