The RSECon26 organising committee is continuing to recognise outstanding Research Software Engineering (RSE) colleagues with an awards ceremony at RSECon26!
About the Awards
Community Awards
Nominees for the Community Awards are chosen by you, the community! We want you to nominate amazing people who have made fantastic contributions over the past 12 months in the following three categories:
- Rising Star: Recognises contributions from early career individuals or those new to RSE work
- Training & Education: Recognises contributions to training and education
- Impact: Recognises work with significant impact in the RSE community
Go for it!
Nominate your colleagues and/or community members to show that you appreciate the work they do and the enthusiasm they bring to the role. Nominations will close at 23:59 (BST) on Monday, July 13th, 2026.
Claire Wyatt Outstanding Contribution to the RSE Community Award
This award is named in honour of the incredible contribution Claire Wyatt made to the Society over the past decade. Claire was a founding member of the UK Research Software Engineer Association and a founding trustee of the Society of Research Software Engineering. The nominees for this award are chosen by the Society’s trustees, who then vote on the winner.
Green RSE Award
The Green RSE Award, sponsored by the Software Sustainability Institute, recognises individuals in the RSE community who are making exceptional contributions to environmental sustainability in research software.
Whether through energy-efficient coding, sustainable infrastructure choices, or advocacy for greener digital research practices, the Green RSE Award shines a spotlight on impactful work that often goes unseen.
Nominations are open to all members of the RSE community and will be judged on environmental impact, creativity, openness and community influence. The winner will be announced at the RSECon26 awards ceremony and will receive a £100 prize.
Find out more about the Green RSE Award
You can find out more details about the Green RSE Award and nominate individuals for the award using the buttons below. Nominations will close at 23:59 (BST) on Monday, July 13th, 2026.
Community Award Details
Rising Star
This award will go to an individual who is at an early career stage, or has only recently become active in the RSE community, but who has already made an outstanding contribution to their team, project, or institution.
Training & Education
This award will go to an individual or group that is excelling at training and education, whether by delivering training courses or writing the material.
Impact
This award will go to an individual or group that has made a significant impact in any part of the RSE community. This could include work done on a particular project, field of research or as part of a group. Other examples could include impact on the wider community, such as increasing RSE visibility and diversity.
Awards Presentation Ceremony
Find out the winners at RSECon26 in Sheffield, between September 9th and 11th 2026, where the successful candidates will be presented with their awards.
Community Award FAQs
Who is eligible?
Anybody doing RSE work, even if they don’t have the official job title of RSE. These individuals can be from any type of institution or they could be working in a freelance or similar capacity.
Can I nominate someone from outside the UK / who is not a UK resident, if they have made an impact within the UK?
Yes.
Can I nominate more than one person for each category?
Feel free to nominate as many people as you would like.
Can I nominate a group for an award?
Yes, you can nominate a group for both the Training & Education and Impact awards.
Can I nominate myself for an award?
Feel free to nominate yourself if you think that it is appropriate.
Are you accepting nominees from non-academic institutions?
If they are carrying out RSE work, no matter their institution or job title, they can be nominated.
How much do we need to write?
Enough to convince the panel to shortlist your nominee! However, we request that your nomination should not exceed 600 words.
How will people find out if they have been nominated or shortlisted?
All nominees will receive an email letting them know that they were nominated. Shortlisted nominees will be informed in early August, prior to the conference.
What if this person is not intending to go to RSECon26?
Can you convince them that it would be worthwhile to attend?! If not, no problem. If they are shortlisted they will be notified by email, and if they are the winner their award will be delivered to their preferred address.
What is the award?
It will be a physical engraved award.
Who are the panel members reviewing the nominations?
They are volunteers from the community. Nominations will be anonymised before any reviews take place.
Who makes the final decision following the reviews?
The final decision about the Community Awards rests with the Awards Chair.
Several colleagues and I all want to nominate the same colleague. Should we submit a single nomination on behalf of the whole group (or at least a number of us), or should we each submit the form with our own views?
Each colleague should submit their own views via the form, even if it is for the same colleague.
I have another question. Who should I ask?
Please contact the Awards Chair (Tamora James) via [email protected].