The staff will participate in a yearly curriculum that spans three months and aims to accelerate ideas into commercially viable solutions inside Iarnród Éireann. They will also be immersed in an entrepreneurial environment and coached by actual entrepreneurs.
The 'Future Track' alliance seeks to help Iarnród Éireann's sustainable transport goals by fostering innovation through a startup-style approach.
At a “demo day,” which will be the program's finale, Iarnród Éireann teams will showcase their ideas in front of senior leadership.
Irish Rail CEO Jim Meade stated, “We have big ambitions for rail to become the backbone of a sustainable transport system for Ireland, for both passengers and freight.”
“To achieve these, we want to further build our innovation capacity, encouraging and developing new ideas that can enhance customer experience and support rail decarbonisation,” added Meade.
Dogpatch Labs CEO Patrick Walsh called the collaboration with Iarnród Éireann “a perfect fit.”
“There is so much innovation already happening within the organisation and we’re looking forward to adding to this by instilling a startup mindset in their staff and giving them access to the entrepreneurial community, ecosystem and network to tackle the most pressing sustainability challenges head-on,” said Walsh.