As the main event of the Research Software Engineering community, RSECon26 provides a forum to share ideas, debate strategies, and develop collective visions for the future of Research Software Engineering. Together, we can shape an environment where software is recognised as a fundamental research product — and where those who build it are acknowledged as being at the centre of research and discovery.
For that reason, RSECon26 will centre around two key themes:
- RSEs as part of the research journey
- Enhancing credit and reproducibility: research software quality, performance, and evidence
Research Software Engineers play a vital role in advancing research, from research project design and planning, all the way to impact and dissemination. Yet, more than a decade after it was formalised, the RSE role is still unevenly recognised across institutions and the central contribution of RSEs to the research process is still not fully acknowledged. For the RSE profession to thrive, it must be recognised as a research career path in its own right, one that combines computational expertise, methodological innovation, and research understanding. Establishing clear, long-term RSE career frameworks will help attract new generations who see software not only as a tool for research, but as a means of doing research.
Recognition of RSE work depends on how effectively we can evidence research contributions made through software. However, assessing software as a research output remains a challenge. Much of the intellectual contribution in software development is invisible: decisions about design, methodology, and reproducibility profoundly shape research outcomes but often go undocumented.
To address this, we must explore:
- How can we define the quality of research software?
- What forms of evidence best encompass the novelty, rigour, and impact of research software?
- How can we ensure that credit systems, institutional policies, and research assessment frameworks evolve to recognise these contributions?