Indian Innovations Shine at the James Dyson Award 2025

On November 19, 2025, the James Dyson Award announced its global winners in a fully virtual ceremony. More than 2,100 student and recent-graduate projects from 28 countries competed for the prestigious prize — and Indian talent made the country proud.

While the two overall global winners came from Poland and the Netherlands, India achieved a historic milestone: for the first time, an Indian project reached the international shortlist of 20 finalists.

Here are the standout stories from this year’s award.

The Global Winners

Medical Category Winner: OnCue
Created by Alessandra Galli (Italy / Delft University of Technology, Netherlands)
An adaptive keyboard + haptic wristband system designed specifically for people with Parkinson’s disease.

• Gentle vibrations and visual cues help overcome hand tremors and “freezing” episodes.
• Users can type accurately again, stay connected, and regain independence.
  Prize: £30,000 to further develop the product.

Sustainability Category Winner: WaterSense
Created by Filip Budny (Poland)
A floating, solar-powered buoy that monitors river pollution in real time and predicts contamination up to 72 hours in advance using AI and low-cost paper sensors.

• Already deployed at 20 sites in Poland (live data: watermap.pl)
• Highly relevant for India’s polluted rivers like the Ganga and Yamuna.
  Prize: £30,000

India’s Historic Finalist: OncoALERT

Developed by Jayanti Kumari at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), India
A portable, AI-powered device that detects early cancer signals from a simple saliva sample.

• Designed for rural and low-resource clinics where advanced diagnostics are unavailable.
• Fast, affordable, non-invasive screening that could save countless lives.
  OncoALERT made it to the global top 20 — the first Indian project ever to achieve this.

Why This Matters for India

• Parkinson’s affects over 500,000 people in India; solutions like OnCue show what empathetic design can do.
• River pollution is a daily crisis in many states; WaterSense-style technology could be adapted here.
• OncoALERT proves Indian students and researchers can compete (and lead) on the world stage.

Sir James Dyson summed it up perfectly:
“These inventions solve real problems in clever, practical ways. I hope the prize money helps turn them into products that reach the people who need them most.”

For young Indian engineers and designers, 2025 sent a clear message: the world is watching — and it’s ready for your ideas.

Have an invention that could change lives? The next James Dyson Award is already open. Go build it.

Learn more and enter: jamesdysonaward.org