James Dyson Award announces global winners

The James Dyson Award has revealed its two 2025 global winners, each receiving S$50,700 for their inventions, which advance accurate water quality monitoring and improve life with Parkinson’s disease.

The global Sustainability Award winner, WaterSense, was invented by Filip Budny from Poland, a PhD candidate in nanotechnology at Warsaw University of Technology. An autonomous water quality monitoring device, it replaces manual, occasional sampling with real-time, AI-powered monitoring and early pollution alerts.

Ts the global Medical Award was won by OnCue, invented by Italian product designer Alessandra Galli, who graduated from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. OnCue is a smart keyboard for people with Parkinson’s. Unlike existing assistive keyboards, it uniquely integrates therapeutic cues into the design to reduce typing errors and help manage tremors and freezing – common symptoms of the disease.

Now in its 20th year, the international student design competition has supported more than 400 student inventions worldwide with S$2.7million in prize money. It received more than 2,100 entries this year from budding inventors across 28 countries and regions.

‘The James Dyson Award supports young inventors who think differently and tackle real-world problems head-on, said James Dyson, founder of Dyson. Our 2025 winners, Filip and Alessandra, are a testament to that spirit – they address challenging health and environmental issues with practical, ingenious solutions. I hope that winning the award will be a springboard for commercialising their world-beating inventions.’

Filip Budny’s invention, WaterSense, autonomously measures the water quality of rivers and lakes in real time, to enable early detection of water pollution. The device is powered by natural water currents through a built-in hydrogenerator. Unlike conventional sensors, which are made of plastic and metal components, WaterSense uses low-cost, recyclable paper sensors to measure more than 20 key indicators of water quality, including pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, chlorides and conductivity. It draws samples from three customisable depths, allowing for layered analysis that can detect pollutants hidden below.

The sensors are replaced automatically each day, like advancing a roll of film in a camera, ensuring consistent lab-grade accuracy without manual input. The used sensors stay housed within the device until the roll is replaced after 12 months, keeping the system fresh and reliable year-round.

The device transmits data via mobile networks to an AI-powered online platform every minute, 15 minutes, or hour, depending on monitoring needs. The online platform analyses water health and actively learns from past data and patterns to forecast pollution events up to 72 hours in advance. The results are publicly available through a website, giving communities and local authorities the insights they need to take early action and protect water ecosystems.

Currently, WaterSense prototypes are being tested in 20 locations across Poland in partnership with water companies and local governments. After winning the James Dyson Award, Budny plans to continue refining the technology and launch WaterSense in other countries.

On winning the award, Budny said: ‘The James Dyson Award confirms that environmental innovation has a global voice. It motivates me to keep pushing – to build, test and deploy systems that make clean water measurable, predictable and accessible to everyone. We’re now focused on expanding collaborations with environmental agencies and research partners across Europe, aiming to scale WaterSense into a continent-wide network by 2026. Our long-term vision is to monitor water quality in rivers around the world. To make this plan a reality, we’re now gathering our first investment round, to ramp up production and accelerate deployment.’

Alessandra Galli’s invention, OnCue, is an affordable smart keyboard paired with wristbands to make typing easier and more accurate for people with Parkinson’s. It combines haptic and visual cues to ease Parkinson’s symptoms.

OnCue sends gentle vibrations through the keyboard and wristbands each time a key is pressed, helping users keep a steady typing rhythm and feel the keys better. When a key is pressed for too long, the vibration slowly intensifies, prompting the user to release and continue with the next key. With the help of AI, OnCue predicts the next letters and lights them up on the keyboard, providing visual prompts to prevent errors and hesitation.

Inspired by gaming keyboards, OnCue features a compact, split design that reduces strain on the hands and arms, with raised key edges to minimise typing errors. Compatible with most computers and laptops, it connects wirelessly via Bluetooth and runs on a battery that lasts up to a week on a single charge.

Galli designed OnCue to be customisable, recognising that symptoms can vary widely for each person, and even fluctuate throughout the day. Users can fine-tune the intensity of vibrations in both the keyboard and wristbands. The keyboard’s lighting system is also adjustable to suit their needs.

Galli is currently developing software to personalise vibration patterns further and tailor to the user’s daily routines and symptom intensity. She plans to continue working closely with medical professionals and people with Parkinson’s to gather feedback and further refine OnCue. She hopes to bring the device to market and expand its use to support people with other neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s and dystonia.

On winning the award, Galli said: ‘Winning the James Dyson Award is both an honour and a confirmation that committing to this project after graduation was the right decision. The James Dyson Award offers not only recognition, but also a practical opportunity to move OnCue forward. The prize provides significant support for completing the operational prototype, bringing the project one step closer to reaching people with Parkinson’s. I am confident that this achievement will also help me expand my network and open new opportunities for OnCue.’