Under the title “Research software, openness, digital infrastructure, interplay and challenges”, the Federal Ministry of Research, Transfer and Space invited experts from the research, open and research software community to present study results on the status, challenges and prospects of research software between openness, scientific application and digital infrastructure. Christine Regitz, President of the German Informatics Society: “Open science is more than a technical concept - it is a social movement for transparency, participation and access to knowledge. This openness requires digital structures and tools - and therefore also ways to achieve this. Computer science plays a key role in this: it not only develops tools, but also the principles of open research. I would go so far as to say that computer science principles such as open source are an important enabler for open science.” Regitz also pointed out in her impulse that research software is a fully-fledged scientific result and not a by-product. Research Software Engineers (RSEs) are indispensable for modern science, but are often underfunded and undervalued. Without structural career paths for RSEs, there is a risk of a systematic loss of knowledge in the transfer and maintenance of software in research projects. Three things are therefore crucial: nstitutional anchoring of the role of RSEs in research institutions, better training in software engineering for research and the recognition of software achievements in scientific careers.

The FutuRSI initiative has officially launched! We’re thrilled to begin our journey toward a national institute for research software. Stay tuned for updates, events, and ways to get involved.