Double win for Loughborough graduates at Women in Innovation Awards

Two Loughborough Design School graduates have been named winners of Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Awards for 2025.

Sri Ellen Hollema and Katie Michaels were among just 50 winners selected from over 1,400 applicants, recognised for their innovative work in developing impactful products.

The award highlights their achievements as female entrepreneurs in the UK and includes a £75k grant, along with tailored business support to help grow their ventures.

Hollema, the founder and managing director of Mat Zero, created a solar-powered heated sleeping mat designed to provide warmth for refugees and disaster relief with zero emissions.

The idea, born from her final-year degree project in product design and technology at Loughborough, is now evolving into a practical solution for vulnerable communities.

Since graduating in 2022, she has taken the product from concept to prototype, supported by funding from the Loughborough Enterprise Network and is preparing for field trials in Nepal in 2025.

Hollema said: “Winning the Women in Innovation Award is an incredible honour and a testament to the hard work and dedication that has gone into building Mat Zero so far. It’s empowering to be recognised alongside so many talented women who are pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation.”

Katie Michaels, founder and CEO of Moti Me, was also recognised with the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award.

Moti Me is a product aimed at helping children with learning and movement disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, through physiotherapy.

Michaels also developed the idea for Moti Me as part of her final-year design project.

After graduating with a degree in industrial and product design in 2020, she founded Moti Me within Loughborough University’s business incubator, LUinc, to begin developing her product.

She was inspired to create Moti Me by her cousin, who has cerebral palsy and seeing his difficulties with practising physiotherapy exercises at home, she wanted to design a product that could help support his development.

Her time volunteering at Ashmount School, a special educational needs school, further motivated her to pursue this path.

Moti Me encourages the development of physical skills like coordination, muscle strength and range of motion through engaging activities.

It not only supports the child but also involves caregivers (parents or healthcare professionals) by making physiotherapy more enjoyable and interactive.

The product also tracks the child’s progress, allowing caregivers to monitor development.

So far, Moti Me has been used by over 100 children in more than 30 healthcare organisations across the UK, including Alder Hey Hospital and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Michaels has recently distributed 30 newly developed prototypes for further user testing, and over the past few years, she has collaborated with various organisations and charities to trial her products.

Professor Dan Parsons, pro vice-chancellor for research and innovation at Loughborough University said: “Mat Zero and Moti Me are excellent examples of the incredible innovation that is being created by our students and graduates here at Loughborough and it’s absolutely fantastic to see all their hard work and their achievements being recognised in this way.

“At Loughborough, we are committed to driving positive change and creating better futures. Graduate enterprises are incredibly important to us and are helping us to deliver on our commitments and strategy. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how both businesses flourish following this award.”