Digital Future Challenge
The student competition on digital responsibility
Digital Future Challenge
The student competition on digital responsibility
Shaping the digital future
How can we shape digital futures in an opportunity-oriented, responsible, and sustainable manner?
This question is at the heart of the Digital Future Challenge – a joint initiative of the Deloitte-Stiftung (Foundation) and Initiative D21. The DFC examines (corporate) responsibility in the context of digitalisation from various perspectives and develops solution approaches for digital-ethical issues together with young talents.
Our goal: to develop and communicate positive visions for the future, actively involve the younger generation, and strengthen Germany’s competitiveness as a business location.
To this end, every winter semester the DFC invites students from across Germany to develop their own solution approaches based on real-world case studies from organizations. In direct exchange with stakeholders from civil society, academia, business, and politics, these ideas are discussed, refined, and further developed.
A distinguished, interdisciplinary jury reviews the submitted concepts in several rounds and selects the most compelling contributions.
The application period opens on 1 October 2026. From that date, you will find further information on this year’s challenge – such as the use cases – as well as the relevant links to the application forms on our website.
Submit your idea online & participate
Take part in the Digital Future Challenge in three steps
Step 1: Find a team
You can take part with a team of 2 to 4 people. Don’t have a team yet? Then get in touch with us at kontakt@digital-future-challenge.de – we’ll be happy to put you in touch with others.
Step 2: Select a use case
Choose one of this year’s use cases that you’d like to work on as a team. Please note: Each use case will be represented at least once in the semi-finals.
Step 3: Submit your idea
Once the challenge begins, you can register directly via our digital portal, save initial drafts of your idea and continue working on your submission step by step (you can save your work as you go). Registration for your team must also be completed exclusively via the digital portal. This allows us to confirm your participation at an early stage and provide you with information and updates on deadlines.
Your proposals must be submitted by 1 December 2026 (23:59) at the latest, and exclusively via our digital portal.
Please follow the submission guidelines in the submission template, such as the limit of 8 slides. The submission template is designed to help you structure your proposals and presentations and is mandatory for your participation. You can choose between German and English.
The submission templates will be available as soon as the application period opens.
Please note: All teams will be notified before Christmas whether they have qualified for the semi-finals on 14 January 2027.
Please also note our terms and conditions. Read these carefully before submitting your entry.
Our terms and conditions are currently being updated and will be available here shortly.
Submit your idea online & participate
Take part in the Digital Future Challenge in three steps
Step 1: Find a team
You can take part with a team of 2 to 4 people. Don’t have a team yet? Then get in touch with us at kontakt@digital-future-challenge.de – we’ll be happy to put you in touch with others.
Step 2: Select a use case
Choose one of this year’s use cases that you’d like to work on as a team. Please note: Each use case will be represented at least once in the semi-finals.
Here you can find an overview of the use cases:
Step 3: Submit your idea
Once the challenge begins, you can register directly via our digital portal, save initial drafts of your idea and continue working on your submission step by step (you can save your work as you go). Registration for your team must also be completed exclusively via the digital portal. This allows us to confirm your participation at an early stage and provide you with information and updates on deadlines.
Your proposals must be submitted by 1 December 2026 (23:59) at the latest, and exclusively via our digital portal.
Please follow the submission guidelines in the submission template, such as the limit of 8 slides. The submission template is designed to help you structure your proposals and presentations and is mandatory for your participation. You can choose between German and English.
The submission templates will the available as soon as the application period opens.
Please note: All teams will be notified before Christmas whether they have qualified for the semi-finals on 14 January 2027.
Please also note our terms and conditions. Read these carefully before submitting your entry.
Our terms and conditions are currently being updated and will be available here shortly.
Challenge schedule
Start & idea phase
1 October to 1 December 2026
Work in teams on your idea for one of the use cases. You’ll receive support in our workshops, from the mentors and in sessions with the use case providers.
Submission
Deadline: 1 December 2026
All ideas must be submitted via our digital portal by the deadline. You can find tips on how to submit your ideas here.
First jury decision
1 December to 15 December 2026
Entries will be reviewed and assessed by a panel of experts according to set evaluation criteria. The top 10 ideas will be invited to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals
14 January 2027, Berlin
In the semi-finals, the top 10 teams will meet in person for the first time and pitch their ideas to a panel of judges and an audience. The panel will then select the five teams to go through to the final.
Finals
22 February 2027, Berlin
At the final, the finalists will present their fully developed concepts to the jury one last time. The top three places will receive prize money. We want to celebrate you and your ideas!
Publication
All projects from the finals will be published in a joint final publication.
Social relevance
- To what extent does the idea solve the social problem described in the use case?
- How big is the potential positive impact?
Future viability and innovative strength
- Does the idea take into account future developments, challenges or technological trends?
- Does the idea have the potential to be effective in the long term
- What is the innovative core?
Feasibility
- Is the idea based on realistic assumptions?
- Are the framework conditions (technical, legal, organisational) basically available or achievable?
- Is it feasible in the short or medium term?
Multi-perspectivity
- Were different professional perspectives (e.g. technology, ethics, law, economics, ecology) included?
- Were conflicting goals or tensions between perspectives reflected?
- Is there a well-thought-out balance between opportunities and risks?
Social inclusion
- Does the idea contribute to opportunity-oriented digital futures for society?
- Were different target groups taken into account during the conception (e.g. with a diversity approach)?
- Does the idea promote access, participation and inclusion (e.g. through barrier-free design, linguistic simplicity or fair distribution)?
Overall impression & impact of the idea
- Is the idea presented in an appealing, comprehensible and convincing way?
- Does the idea reflect a responsible, opportunity-oriented approach to digitalisation?
- Is there a clear and viable solution?
Social relevance
- To what extent does the idea solve the social problem described in the use case?
- How big is the potential positive impact?
Future viability and innovative strength
- Does the idea take into account future developments, challenges or technological trends?
- Does the idea have the potential to be effective in the long term
- What is the innovative core?
Feasibility
- Is the idea based on realistic assumptions?
- Are the framework conditions (technical, legal, organisational) basically available or achievable?
- Is it feasible in the short or medium term?
Multi-perspectivity
- Were different professional perspectives (e.g. technology, ethics, law, economics, ecology) included?
- Were conflicting goals or tensions between perspectives reflected?
- Is there a well-thought-out balance between opportunities and risks?
Social inclusion
- Does the idea contribute to opportunity-oriented digital futures for society?
- Were different target groups taken into account during the conception (e.g. with a diversity approach)?
- Does the idea promote access, participation and inclusion (e.g. through barrier-free design, linguistic simplicity or fair distribution)?
Overall impression & impact of the idea
- Is the idea presented in an appealing, comprehensible and convincing way?
- Does the idea reflect a responsible, opportunity-oriented approach to digitalisation?
- Is there a clear and viable solution?
Contact
Dr. Marie Blachetta, Initiative D21 e.V. marie.blachetta@initiatived21.de LinkedIn
Jessica Sandler, Deloitte-Stiftung jsandler@deloitte.de LinkedIn
Dr. Marie Blachetta, Initiative D21 e.V. marie.blachetta@initiatived21.de LinkedIn
Jessica Sandler, Deloitte-Stiftung jsandler@deloitte.de LinkedIn
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