Herts alumna wins global innovation award for pioneering healthy-ageing technology
Keerthi Busanaboyina, who completed her MSc in AI and Robotics at Herts in 2022, and co-founder Hemanth Kumar Talupula, also a Herts graduate in Advanced Computer Science in Software Engineering and Data Science (2024), took home the Startup Award at the prestigious Santander X Global Challenge in Amsterdam.
Their venture – Ellyfe - beat more than 500 startups and scaleups from 11 countries at this year’s competition, themed Reimagine Silver Age, which looked for the most innovative enterprises helping healthy ageing by improving aspects such as their health, wellbeing, autonomy, activity, and financial security.
Ellyfe - a smart wearable band - stood out for its life-saving potential. Designed to continuously monitor hydration levels in older adults, it addresses a critical health risk often overlooked: dehydration.
After the age of 65, many people lose sensitivity to thirst, making them particularly vulnerable. The consequences are serious - dehydration accounts for around 15% of hospitalisations among older adults each year, contributes to kidney problems with over 100,000 cases annually, and is a major factor in urinary tract infections.
Ellyfe - which stands for ‘Leveraging Electronics to Save Lives’ - combines expertise in AI, software engineering and electronics, with support from med-tech and healthcare mentors, to tackle this head-on. If abnormal hydration levels are detected, the device instantly alerts caregivers via an app, helping prevent complications before they become emergencies.
Keerthi said her inspiration came from personal experience: “My grandfather was hospitalised after a fall caused by dehydration. We discovered too late that older adults often lose their sensitivity to thirst. I couldn’t save him - but I was determined to prevent similar tragedies.”
Keerthi developed Ellyfe with sustained support from the University’s Enterprise Team, receiving mentoring, business development guidance and funding opportunities. She also won a Flare Award in 2023, recognising entrepreneurial excellence within the Herts community.
Speaking about the achievement, Iheanyi Ibe, manager of the Herts Entrepreneurship Programme, said:
“We are incredibly proud of Keerthi and the Ellyfe team. Their passion for meaningful innovation and their commitment to improving the wellbeing of older adults exemplify the spirit of entrepreneurship we work hard to nurture at Herts.
“This global award is a testament not only to their vision but also to the power of supporting students and graduates from all disciplines to pursue impactful ideas.
“It is particularly fitting news during this Global Entrepreneurship Week across more than 200 countries and symbolises the impact of the Global community studying here at Herts.”
The Santander X Global Challenge awards ceremony, hosted at Royal Philips in Amsterdam, celebrated solutions that enhance quality of life for older adults - improving health, wellbeing, autonomy and activity. Ellyfe’s success means the team will share €120,000 in prizes, gain access to the Santander X 100 global community, connect with Banco Santander’s Fintech Station, and receive mentoring from Philips.
They will also now compete in the Tata Varsity Pitch final next week, where they are shortlisted for the Community and Social Development Award. The University is one of only two UK institutions with multiple semi-finalists in the Santander X UK Awards, selected from more than 1,200 entries - a reflection of its vibrant entrepreneurial community.
The University is one of only 20 universities that were awarded University Enterprise Zone governmental funding in 2019. In May 2025, the University’s had 11 out of the 18 finalists, including the two top prizes at the Lord-Lieutenant’s Entrepreneurs Challenge for business start-ups.
Herts has also received £6.88 million in Local Growth funding (via Hertfordshire Futures) since 2017, which has helped support over 1,100+ businesses, 12,000 students, and has created or safeguarded almost 200 jobs over eight years.
The University is committed to supporting students and alumni in every discipline to explore, launch and scale their entrepreneurial ventures through initiatives such as Herts Enterprise, Flare, and a wide range of mentoring, funding, and skills-development programmes.
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