Dear all,
Welcome to the second issue of the Swiss Research Software Engineering Community Newsletter! In this edition, we recap recent community events and look ahead to key events coming in 2026.
Updates from Switzerland
ETH Zurich FAIR Competence Funding Initiative
After the end of the ETH domain ORD program, ETH Zurich launched the ETH Zurich FAIR Competence Funding. This funding is a part of the institution-wide ETH FAIR Coalition, led by Annette Oxenius (Vice President for Research) and Ueli Weidmann (Vice President for Infrastructure and Sustainability).
The initiative aims to implement FAIR principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability) for digital research assets such as code, data, notes, metadata and images across ETH Zurich. The first call for proposals has now closed, and the initiative continues as an ongoing effort to strengthen FAIR data practices at the institution.
ETH members interested in FAIR initiatives can learn more and show commitment by signing the FAIR Coalition Charter.
EPFL RSE Events & Talks
The EPFL community has maintained an active calendar of research software events throughout the first half of 2026. Highlights include:
- RSE Lightning Talks in February, with presentations on promptware security, data-papers, and a group discussion on using LLMs in coding tasks.
- A special edition of the open-source software services meet-up on fragilités et souveraineté numérique in March, featuring David Monniaux (CNRS / Université Grenoble Alpes) on digital fragility and sovereignty, followed by a panel with EPFL experts.
- The ongoing ENAC-IT4R Tuesdays Tech Talks series, covering AI tools for coding, 3D data, mobility tools, data contribution pipelines, and literate programming.
- An online EnhanceR seminar in May with two RSE Ambassadors presenting on UI/UX for RSEs and digital trust in Graph-RAG.
First RSE Romandie Meet-Up
On 2 June 2026, the first RSE Romandie meet-up took place at EPFL, bringing together around 40 participants from academia and industry (SICPA, Kudelski, Swisscom, CERN, and several Swiss-Romand universities). The day featured talks on RSE history, simulation software design, code communication, zero-knowledge proofs, and a hackathon on tools to foster the Swiss RSE community. Feedback highlighted the value of networking and exchanging ideas across institutional boundaries. Slides and pictures are available in the event recap blog post.
RSE Romandie meet-up
Updates from around the world
Germany
The German RSE conference deRSE26 took place in early March in Stuttgart, offering fresh perspectives and networking opportunities for the community. More information.
The German RSE association is also offering a workshop on AI-supported Research Software Engineering on 22 September 2026 in Göttingen, Germany.
SocRSE Mentoring Scheme 2026
The SocRSE Mentoring Scheme has restarted for 2026 with 26 mentor-mentee pairs embarking on a nine-month journey. Free for SocRSE members, the program supports career development and personal growth within the RSE community. Applications for 2027 will open early next year. Learn more.
2026 International RSE Survey Data Release
The Software Sustainability Institute has released the results of the 2026 International RSE Survey, which received over 950 responses from 55 countries. This year’s survey covers the use and perception of generative AI in research software, open-source practices, and community demographics.
Ten years of survey data can be explored in an interactive online dashboard.
Upcoming Events
DS/RSE Task Questionnaire
Do you identify as a research software engineer, a data steward, or both? The ETH Domain Data Stewardship Network has launched a short task survey to better understand how these roles overlap and differ. It takes about 5 minutes, is anonymous, and closes at the end of July 2026. Your answers will help shape training and career support. Link to the survey.
Git Course at PSI
A Git course for beginners and advanced learners continues at PSI with sessions on 26 May and 9 June 2026, covering advanced Git topics and CI/CD. The course is hybrid; details are available on the PSI RSE events page.
Annual Swiss RSE Day 2026
The RSE4ORD project will conclude at the end of 2026 with the Annual Swiss RSE Day, scheduled for 31 August 2026 at ETH Zurich. The conference includes keynotes, presentations, and a poster/demo session, focusing on:
- RSE for Open Research Data (ORD) and Open Science
- AI in Research Software Engineering
- RSE Community (sharing experiences and building connections) In addition, the organizers offer a service to facilitate meetings between participants sharing similar interests to meet during the day.
More details and registration.
The RSE4ORD project is finalizing the statutes for a future Swiss RSE association, with the inauguration meeting most likely taking place during RSE Day on 31 August.
RSECon26
The UK RSECon26 conference will take place 9–11 September 2026 in Sheffield, marking the 10th anniversary of this flagship RSE conference. Learn more.
Get Involved
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 continue to be inspired by the enthusiasm and engagement across our community. Thank you for being part of this journey!
Warm regards,
Son Pham-Ba, Uwe Schmitt, and Linus Gasser on behalf of the Swiss RSE Community Team