Diversity in Motion: Stories from Hitachi Rail

How Darina Alovska Landed Her Internship at Hitachi Rail Through Voice.of.Diversity

Q:Why did you decide to sign up for voice.of.diversity?
Darina: I signed up for voice.of.diversity hoping to land an internship. At the time, I was a year into my computer science degree and eager to get more hands-on experience. What stood out to me the most was the program’s strong commitment to giving everyone a fair shot, regardless of their background.

Q:What was your experience at voice.of.diversity's anonymous auditions?
Darina: I felt surprisingly relaxed! We started with anonymous text chats and later met in person. The focus was on who we were as individuals and not just on our technical skills.

My favorite interview was with Hitachi Rail—the conversation flowed naturally. I felt like we’d connected, so I sent them a cover letter and my CV right after.

The very next day, I got the call—I got the internship!

Q: What happened next?
Darina: A few months before my internship officially started, I was invited to a preboarding event with the other interns. We toured the labs, met our supervisors, and played ice-breaker games. It was a great way to already build up an internal network and get a glimpse of what was to come.

Q:What did you do at the internship?
Darina: Over the summer, I worked on a project to automate repetitive yet necessary tasks for a software development team. Although I ran into some complex issues along the way, I made a point of working through most of them on my own. I found the most valuable learning came from persisting and solving problems on my own, but I always had the option to reach out to my team whenever I got stuck.

Overall, I am very grateful for the opportunities both voice.of.diversity and Hitachi Rail gave me. The experience helped me grow more confident – in myself and my abilities.

Where Passion Meets Purpose: Josip Bobinac’s Experience at Hitachi Rail

Q: What is your background?
Josip: I did my Bachelor’s in Florida before moving to Vienna for my Master’s in Computational Science and Engineering at TU Wien before joining Hitachi Rail as a Trainee. It was really interesting to participate at voice.of.diversity —first as a student, and later as a Hitachi representative to help recruit new interns. That’s actually how we ended up hiring Darina!

Q: What does Hitachi Rail do?
Josip: Hitachi Rail provides integrated rail solutions for operators around the world - from manufacture and maintenance of rolling stock to digital signaling and smart operational systems.

Q: What do you like about Hitachi Rail?
Josip: On a personal level, I have lived in Croatia and the Southern U.S. where I did not own a car. That’s where my excitement about the railway systems in Austria comes from. I am happy that my time and energy is spent contributing to something I value.

On a practical level—since joining, I’ve had the chance to dive into DevOps, Cybersecurity, and classic Java development. Despite the breadth of these topics, I get enough guidance from supervisors and support from experienced colleagues to shape my learning path and contribute to the project in a meaningful way.

Meet Hitachi Rail at welcome.day and voice.of.diversity

Participating in voice.of.diversity for the second time reflects Hitachi Rail's ongoing commitment to creating a workplace where every individual – regardless of cultural background, gender, or neurodiversity – has equal access to opportunity and is enabled to contribute.

This initiative aligns with our diversity strategy, which is rooted in the belief that valuing different perspectives strengthens our teams and drives innovation. By engaging in voice.of.diversity's anonymous, bias-reducing recruitment process, we reaffirm our dedication to fairness, transparency, and psychological safety – core principles of our inclusive culture.

We are proud to collaborate with TU Career Center to inspire the next generation of railway professionals and ensure that our recruitment practices reflect the
values we stand for.

- Gladysmay Regalado, Human Resources Expert, Hitachi Rail