Your ideas for Heidelberg deserve a team.

Global Shapers Heidelberg is where young people from the Rhine-Neckar region turn ideas into real projects, backed by a network of 11,520 Shapers in 150 countries.

Apply to join How joining works

For 18–27-year-olds studying, working or living in the region. Membership is free and voluntary.

A large group of Global Shapers smiling on the Mont-Blanc pier in Geneva
Shapers at GeneVibe, Geneva, September 2026

The people you’d be working with

Students, researchers and young professionals from very different fields, all building something for the region.

Meet all our Shapers
  • Benedikt Meier
    Curator
  • Pierre Jacob
    Vice Curator
  • Frederic Heigel
    Impact Officer
  • Anthea Reeb
    Shaper
  • Kathrin Kurz
    Shaper
  • Tushaar Bhatt
    Shaper
  • Lucila Quetglas
    Shaper
  • Montasir Jim
    Shaper
  • Maximilian Hartlieb
    Shaper
  • Yaacoub Bouthir-Estellés
    Shaper
  • Marianna Hofmeier
    Shaper
  • Dan Seiler
    Shaper

Lead a project the region actually needs

Every project here is designed, organized and delivered by Shapers. You bring the idea or join one that’s already running, and the hub gives you the people, partners and credibility to make it happen.

See all projects
Heidelberg Biotech SimulatorMatching life-science, business and AI students with real biotech startups.
AI x MittelstandHelping the region’s small and mid-sized companies put AI to practical use.
Young Security LeadersBringing young voices into security debates, from online expert sessions to the Munich Security Conference.
Around a hundred Global Shapers posing together in a park above Lake Geneva

Get a global network on day one

11,520 Shapers. 508 hubs. 150 countries.

The Global Shapers Community was founded by the World Economic Forum. As a Heidelberg Shaper you’re part of it from the start, with access to gatherings like GeneVibe in Geneva and to Shapers in almost every major city.

Grow with people outside your field

Connect. We bring together people from different backgrounds, studies and professions to exchange ideas across the boundaries that usually keep fields apart.

Empower. We help each other grow, test ideas and gain the confidence to act.

Act. We work with local stakeholders to turn ideas into real impact.

How joining works

  1. Check you’re a fit

    You’re 18 to 27, based in Heidelberg or the Rhine-Neckar region, and you want to spend some of your time building something local.

  2. Apply online

    Fill in the official Global Shapers application form. Tell us who you are and what you’d like to work on.

  3. Meet the hub

    We’ll get in touch to get to know you and show you the projects you could join or start.

Heidelberg’s next project could be yours.

Questions before you apply? Write to us at heidelberg@globalshapers.org.

Apply to join Partner with us

Our mission

Global Shapers Heidelberg e. V.
Registered non-profit association
Vereinsregister VR 704084

Global Shapers Heidelberg e. V. is a registered non-profit association and the official Global Shapers hub for Heidelberg. Our mission is to empower young people in Heidelberg and the Rhine-Neckar region to take an active role in shaping the place they live in.

We pursue this mission through youth-led programs and services that are free and open to the community: local impact projects in education, sustainability, innovation, and social cohesion; public workshops, panel discussions, and networking events; mentoring and skills training for young people; and partnerships with schools, universities, businesses, and civic organizations across the region.

All of our work is voluntary and non-profit. Every project is designed, organized, and delivered by our members at no cost to the people and organizations we serve.