Meet the James Dyson Award 2025 Winners from Southeast Asia

The Problem: For the millions living with diabetes – including over 600,000¹ in Singapore managing this condition – daily routines may include injecting insulin multiple times a day, often in rushed or public environments. Many fumble through bags for sharp components, risking accidental pricks. Especially in countries like Singapore, where ‘sharps’ bins are not widely available in public areas, people with diabetes have to hold on to their used needles to make sure they are disposed of safely. The process brings not just physical inconvenience, but also feelings of anxiety and stress.

The Solution: National University of Singapore graduate Zoey Chan, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 20, felt that these challenges were deeply personal. She created nido – neat insulin daily organiser – a compact, portable holder that safely stores, ejects, and organises insulin needles, designed to transform the daily injection process for people with Type 1 diabetes. The intelligent and intuitive design aims to make this daily routine safer, simple, and fuss-free.

“Injecting insulin multiple times a day in public was awkward, messy and isolating. I realised that the tools we were given to manage these daily injections were not really designed for us. So, I decided to develop a product to reclaim control in my own life, and redesign my daily routine.”

The Problem: In rural India, almost 80,000² women die annually from cervical cancer, despite the disease being one of the most curable forms of cancer. However, the condition often goes by undetected due to limited access and social stigma associated with screening.

The Solution: Created by Gunika Jain, Product Design graduate from Lasalle College of the Arts, Chhavi is a self-test kit for cervical cancer screening designed for women in rural areas. It allows women to privately collect their own samples for self-diagnosis with a colour-change indicator, while also being designed to allow for the user to send the sample to a lab for further analysis. Chhavi makes early detection of cervical cancer more accessible – addressing barriers of distance, cost, and social discomfort, and giving women greater agency over their own health.

The Problem: In times of humanitarian crises, families are often displaced due to damage to their homes, causing emergency shelters to be constructed. However, large shelters require immense mobilisation and construction time, which is yet another challenge for displaces families.

The Solution: Noda is an innovative turgid joint system designed to enable the rapid assembly of emergency structures for displaced families in areas of humanitarian crises. Inspired by the way plant cells become turgid and can swiftly support growth, Noda’s inventor Reynard Seah Jun Hao sought to bring nature’s efficiency and resilience into a solution that could empower those facing crisis. By creating a structural system that is easy to deploy, affordable, and scalable, Noda stands to make a real difference in times of calamity.

The Problem:Malaysia generates around 39,000 tonnes of solid waste daily, with food waste making up about one-third of the total. Improper disposal of used cooking oil is a key issue. In sewers, fats, oils and grease (FOG) solidify and are responsible for up to 70% of blockages and overflows, driving higher maintenance costs and worsening flood risks.

The Solution: UNBLOK is an under-sink filter system that intercepts FOG at the source, preventing clogged pipes and fatbergs that wreak havoc on sewage systems. The winning team behind UNBLOK – Ong Jing Rou, Natalie Tham and Ng Wen Kai of Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) – developed the system after a personal encounter with a stubbornly clogged kitchen drain. UNBLOK works by placing a modular filter beneath the sink, after the standard strainer catches food scraps. Wastewater flows into UNBLOK, where its replaceable core made from natural palm fiber – an agricultural by-product of palm oil which is often discarded or burned – traps fats and grease. Simple to install and maintain, the compact system fits discreetly into existing household pipes without the need for tools.

“It started with the simple frustration of a clogged sink, but the deeper we researched, the more we realised how significant this issue is for urban environments. Fatbergs cause flooding, damage infrastructure and put sanitation workers at risk. We wanted a solution that wasn’t just effective, but also environmentally responsible. That’s why we turned to palm fiber – it’s natural, biodegradable, and locally abundant,” the team shared.

The Problem: For visually impaired students, science education often feels out of reach. Most teaching tools are designed for sighted learners, leaving those with visual impairments to rely solely on descriptions or imagination. When it comes to astronomy, for example, students who are visually impaired can only “listen and imagine” during lessons on solar or lunar eclipses. This lack of accessible, tactile, and multisensory resources limits their ability to fully grasp scientific concepts, contributing to inequality in education and discouraging curiosity.

The Solution: Ecliptica was created as a tactile and audio-based learning tool to make astronomy accessible for B2 and B3 visually impaired students. The system uses textured 3D models of the Sun, Earth, and Moon, combined with high-contrast visuals, spatial movement, and future audio guidance, to explain how eclipses work. Designed with inclusivity and accessibility in mind from the start, it also benefits sighted learners, making science lessons more collaborative and engaging for all.

The Problem:Flooding is a recurring and devastating issue across Southeast Asia, displacing families, damaging property, and claiming lives every year. The danger often does not stem from the unpredictability of floods themselves, but from the lack of reliable and timely communication. Many flood victims struggle because emergency hotlines are jammed, alert systems are too broad to reach those in immediate danger, and underserved communities lack the infrastructure for early warnings. Without accessible tools to call for help, families are left vulnerable and often stranded during critical moments.

The Solution: FMAS (Flood Monitoring Alert and SOS System) is designed to keep flood-prone communities safe with an affordable, easy-to-use network. Unlike traditional systems that depend on mobile networks, FMAS runs on LoRa, a low-power, long-range communication technology, making it reliable even during disasters. By combining early warning with a direct SOS channel, FMAS ensures families are alerted in time and can quickly call for help. The system empowers vulnerable communities with faster response and better coordination, to better help save lives when floods strike.

The Problem: The Philippines once had a thriving local salt industry, however, the country now imports 93% of its salt needs. The decline of local salt production has been driven by multiple factors: climate change, limited technological advancements, lack of consistent government support, urbanization and more. Over time, these pressures have left coastal communities struggling to sustain what was once a vital source of livelihood.

The Solution: Inspired by his hometown of Pangasinan, which directly translates to ‘a place where salt is made,’ John Carlo Luna Reyes, an industrial design student from UP Diliman, developed SolAsin to help coastal communities revive a livelihood once central to their identity. SolAsin introduces an accessible, solar-based method for producing high-value flaky salt using seawater and sunlight, revitalising local industries and reducing dependence on imports.

”This recognition is more than just a personal achievement—it is a win for the communities that inspired SolAsin. My goal has always been to design with and for the people, and this award gives me the opportunity to further develop the project so it can truly uplift local salt farmers. I hope this inspires more young Filipino designers to look to our own communities and industries for solutions that can create lasting change,” said John.

The Problem: Amid the soaring heat indices, many Filipino homes and schools lack air-conditioning because of steep upfront costs and high energy use, impairing comfort, focus, and well-being.

The Solution: ChillWise is a passive, energy-efficient cooling panel system that can reduce energy use by up to 95% compared to conventional concrete, created by Jayvimar B. Sumagang and John Joseph P. Banticil. It combines lightweight foamed concrete with special heat-storing materials, along with agro-waste such as rice hull ash and fly ash, to passively regulate indoor temperatures and save on cooling cost. As it absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night, ChillWise moderates indoor temperatures naturally without electricity, while promoting circular design.

The Problem: The Philippines grapples with deforestation and heavy reliance on imported wood. Meanwhile, native resources like bamboo and cattail grass (Lampakanay) remain abundant yet underutilised.

The Solution: Created by Sandrew Rogel Eya, Jo Jane Nalam and Guendolyn Almonte of Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology, Lambooply is a durable, eco-friendly composite material made by reinforcing bamboo with Lampakanay fibers. Using non-toxic adhesives, this material delivers strength, stability, and aesthetic appeal – without relying on slow-growing trees and synthetic materials – for both structural and non-structural applications.