Human Resources 2025

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Projektingenieur im Gespräch mit einer Planfeststellungsmanagerin (Hamburg Hbf)
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People power progress – and at Deutsche Bahn Group, our 300,000+ employees prove it every day.

That’s why we’re thrilled to kick off the 8th round of our startup program in partnership with DB’s Human Resource department.

Over the course of 100 days, selected startups will co-create, tailor, and test their solutions on real HR challenges – right at the heart of Europe’s largest mobility and infrastructure provider.

What’s in it for you?

  • EUR 25,000 in funding – no equity taken
  • Exclusive access to DB experts, data, and real-world challenges
  • 1:1 coaching and mentoring from a handpicked network
  • Coworking space at our vibrant Berlin Jannowitzbrücke office
  • A dedicated DB mindbox startup manager by your side

Join us to build the future of work – and unlock the door to long-term collaboration with Deutsche Bahn Group.

You have questions about the program?Join our weekly open Q&A session every Tuesday 09:30 – 09:55 (CEST). We’ll be happy to chat with you and answer anything you’d like to know. Click here to dial in!

What are we looking for?

We are looking for innovative solutions that help us shape the future of work at DB across four key areas.

To promote a culture of safe space and awareness, we seek approaches that actively prevent discrimination, raise awareness, and foster an inclusive environment where every employee feels respected, seen, and supported. At the same time, we aim to boost engagement by involving all employees more effectively—particularly operational staff—through smarter, more appealing ways to integrate digital tools and communication technologies into everyday work. Recognizing that knowledge transfer is essential for long-term success, we are interested in solutions that enable the seamless sharing of experience and expertise across teams and generations—making knowledge accessible, transferable, and sustainable. Finally, we want to move from feedback to action by turning employee insights into meaningful outcomes. We are looking for tools that help transform survey results into concrete measures and strategic decisions.

If you are working on solutions or technologies in these areas, we look forward to hearing from you. You can find more information about the individual use cases below.

Discrimination Support Center

We are looking for a point of contact for employees in case of experienced or perceived discrimination, aiming for respectful and safe interaction. The contact point should serve for education and awareness-raising, as well as consolidating existing points of contact and measures.

Connected & Interactive

To ensure efficient collaboration in day-to-day operations, we aim to strengthen digital accessibility and engagement in the operational area. We are exploring solutions related to gaming, eLearning, and user engagement to create new impulses for motivation and participation.

DB Memory

We are looking for a tool that helps us capture valuable knowledge from individuals, store it digitally, validate it, and make it accessible for others. The goal is to preserve expertise in a structured way and ensure its long-term availability within the organization.

Explainer Video

We aim to simplify the creation of engaging and easy-to-understand explainer videos. The focus is on tools that enable employees to quickly turn complex topics into entertaining visual formats for effective knowledge sharing.

Actionable Insights

We are seeking a solution that not only explains survey results to help leaders understand and learn but create team-specific action plans with practical solution options. It should work for a diverse group—from operational managers to upper management.

Further solutions

You have additional solutions? We are looking forward to hear about them.

Timeline

03. Aug. 2025 – Application deadline

Last day to apply for the program (eod).

29. Aug. 2025 – Announcement of candidates

Invitation of selected teams.

23. Sep. 2025 – Selection day

Pitch your idea on stage to a jury and audience

20. Oct. 2025 – Start of program

Start of the 100-day Proof-of-Concept (PoC) to develop and test a prototype in cooperation with DB.

End of January 2026 – End of program

End of 100-day Proof-of-Concept (PoC) and presentation of results.