Dear all,
Welcome to the first issue of the Swiss Research Software Engineering Community Newsletter. We are delighted to introduce the new national network, look back at recent activities, share developments from across Switzerland and abroad, and give you an idea of what is coming next. This edition brings together updates from initiatives that are actively shaping the future of a Swiss RSE community.
Updates from Switzerland
Building the community
The foundation of a national community has been a major focus this year. RSE ambassadors supported by the RSE4ORD project and EnhanceR are helping institutions develop local activities and create new points of connection. A community building event with more than 20 people organised by EnhanceR in Bern in June brought practitioners together from many disciplines, providing space for exchange and collaboration.
Outreach
Our new website is now online at rse.swiss, offering a home for Swiss RSE activity.
The websites content and setup is hosted at https://gitlab.com/rse-switzerland/rse-swiss that welcomes contributions, and the community’s visual identity has taken shape with a new logo.
The first stickers are already appearing at events and are thriving on the backs of laptops across the country.
Working groups at RSE EPFL
Several working groups have formed to explore priorities for the RSE community. The Sustainable IT group is outlining practical approaches to reduce environmental impact in research computing. The Career Paths group is examining how institutions can recognize and support RSE roles. Another group is focusing on the importance of permanent contracts to improve RSEs’ job stability in academia. All groups are open to new contributors who would like to be involved. You can join us on the RSE-EPFL channel.
Past events
This year has been full of activity. The EnhanceR symposium gathered more than 100 participants from institutions throughout Switzerland. Half of them were attending an EnhanceR event for the first time, which highlights growing interest in RSE topics. Local kick off events also took place at WSL, PSI, the University of Bern, and the University of Zurich. These meetings helped connect researchers across disciplines and encouraged the launch of local RSE groups.
RSE Survey
As part of the RSE4ORD project, we launched the Swiss RSE Survey, and have received 191 responses to date.
We are planning to publish a detailed analysis of these responses in early 2026. If you have experience in such analyses and would like to help, please reach out to us.
Here are two teaser figures: The first one shows that many of the respondents to the survey are RSEs with a strong research focus, and none of those who responded think of themselves as doing 100% engineering.
As you would expect, the RSEs in the middle of the spectrum are the most convinced that they are actual RSEs!
The second one is what the RSEs would like for 2026 – please excuse Claude for contextualising this in a Western festive setting. Also, some of these entries are already active, so the gifts are unwrapped and in use!
Updates from around the world
Conferences
Sister initiatives have been active internationally: deRSE25 and RSECon25 created opportunities to follow global developments in RSE and to share Swiss contributions with a broader audience.
Funding and resources
The Software Sustainability Institute had their first round of sustainability funds that support work aimed at strengthening software maintenance practices Research Software Maintenance Fund.
The funded projects can be found here.
Additional global updates
The Research Software Engineers International network is expanding rapidly, with Swiss RSE now part of this growing community.
Outlook 2026
The coming months bring many opportunities. The deRSE26 and RSECon26 conferences will offer fresh perspectives and new collaborations. A new international RSE survey is planned and will shed light on global trends in research software engineering.
The RSE4ORD project will conclude at the end of 2026 with a final Swiss RSE Day, likely to take place in September at ETH Zurich. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with you and developing a strong national community. Stay tuned!
If you would like to share news, contribute updates or support future editions of this newsletter, please get in touch at Matrix/RSE-General. We are excited to begin this journey with you and grateful for the enthusiasm already present across our institutions!
Warm regards,
Son Pham-Ba, Linus Gasser, and Uwe Schmitt on behalf of the Swiss RSE Community Team