Dr Yola Jones is a 2025 winner of the Women in Innovation 2025 award.
At just 29 years old, Yola is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Seluna, a pioneering Scottish start-up developing machine learning models to improve the diagnosis of sleep disorders in children.
With an impressive array of qualifications,including master’s degrees in robotics and software development, as well as a PhD in machine learning for healthcare, Yola tells Surge her passion for technology first began at an early age.
“I was that kid who loved science and maths. I got to spend a week at Strathclyde University’s Space Week and after that I knew I would be an engineer.”
Yola remained dedicated to making engineering her career, leading her to co-found Seluna.
“This is my dream job. I am fascinated by machine learning and wanted to apply it to enhancing and improving access to healthcare,” she explains. “It’s such a powerful tool but you have to balance that power with using it ethically and that challenge was the focus of my PhD”.
Yola wants to encourage more girls and women into technology and hopes she can be a role model for future generations.
“My role model growing up was the fictional character Martha Jones, in Dr Who. I couldn’t see any real women that were like her,” says the innovator. “Martha was into science, she trained to be a doctor, and she was strong-willed. I wanted to be just like her”.
I am not what most people imagine as a CTO
The 29-year-old doesn’t believe she fits the stereotype for a business founder and says, “You don’t have to be like the candidates on The Apprentice”.
“I have tattoos and colourful hair. I often sit at home in my pyjamas whilst coding. I am not what most people imagine as a CTO,” she laughs.
Yola is refreshingly true to herself – and her authentic, and humble attitude extends into her leadership.
“I am very lucky, I love my job and I want to do the best for my team so we can have cool people, in cool jobs, doing something that they love”.
When asked her advice for women looking to start their own business, Yola says, “You are much more capable than you think. Women sometimes undervalue themselves, if they haven’t mastered every skill, but I meet so many smart women with the ability to learn. It’s what makes them unique and valuable.”
Check out our other innovator stories: Anna Smart and Zain Rishi
