August 2026 Newsletter
There’s lots happening across the RSE community this month. Whether you’re preparing for RSECon26, considering an Institute for Research Software (previously the SSI, as explained below) Fellowship application, exploring the impact of AI on research software, or discovering new community projects and events, we hope you’ll find something to inspire and engage you, as well as the usual updates from the month of August.
Society News Updates
SocRSE AGM Announcement 2026
The 2026 Annual General Meeting of the Society of Research Software Engineering will be held on Thursday 10th September 2026 as part of #RSECon26.
More information about this year’s elections, a proposed update to the constitution and our annual report can be found at this link https://society-rse.org/socrse-agm-announcement-2026/
RSECon26
RSECon26 Meet and Greet Sessions
Are you attending RSECon26 for the first time or looking to connect before the busy schedule begins? We are hosting two short informal Meet and Greet sessions to provide a welcoming and supportive environment for you to chat with other attendees and the conference committee.
https://rsecon26.society-rse.org/social-events/meet-and-greet/
The first session takes place on Tuesday 8th September from 17:45 to 18:30 at Peddler Warehouse. This runs immediately before the welcome social so you can easily stay on for the evening.
The second session is on Wednesday 9th September from 08:15 to 09:00 at The Wave right before the first session of the day kicks off.
We look forward to seeing you there to help kick off an amazing conference in Sheffield!
RSECon26 Lighting Talks
RSECon26 is introducing a new dedicated lightning talks session on Thursday 10th September! These 3-minute talks are a fantastic opportunity to present your work, get feedback, raise project visibility or find new collaborators.
Lightning talks are perfect if you are early career, want to share brand-new results, plan to gauge interest for a new SIG or simply have an exciting topic to share with the community. They are also a great option if you are presenting a poster and want to speak to a captive audience.
The sign-up form opens on 26 August and closes on 9 September. Secure your spot to get your ideas in front of the RSECon audience!
Announcements
New Name for SSI
Exciting changes are underway at the Software Sustainability Institute as we introduce a new name and visual identity. This change will reflect our growth and the evolution of the research software community over the past 15 years.
Research Software Engineers are vital to our success, and we aim to share key insights about our rebranding with the community. Our latest blog post details this significant transition, so be sure to check it out.
On Tuesday 1 September 2026, we will unveil our new name and identity. We will make this announcement online, but if you’d like to receive direct updates via email, we encourage you to sign up for our newsletter.
If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected].
We sincerely thank the Society of RSE and Research Software Engineers in the UK and globally for your unwavering collaboration and support.
Institute for Research Software Fellowship Programme 2027 – Applications Open
The Institute for Research Software, formerly the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI), are pleased to announce that applications for it’s 2027 Fellowship Programme will be open from Monday 10 August to Monday 5 October 2026. Join a passionate community of over 250 Fellows.
An introductory Fellowship Programme Launch Webinar will be held on Thursday 20 August, from 11:00-12:30 (BST/GMT+1). This webinar is aimed at potential applicants and will provide an overview of the programme, insights into the application process, experiences from current Fellows, and an opportunity to have your questions answered.
For more information and to register, please visit: https://www.software.ac.uk/apply
We look forward to receiving your applications and welcoming the next cohort of Fellows who will help us shape the future of the research software community!
Community News & Events
Can an AI-Coding Agent Replace an RSE?
Head of Research Software Engineering at the University of Manchester, Adrian Harwood, shares his thoughts on the shape of Research Software Engineering services in the age of vibe coding.
https://research-it.manchester.ac.uk/news/2026/07/22/can-an-ai-coding-agent-replace-an-rse
RSE South-West region meeting in Bath
The fourth meeting of the South-West regional group took place at the University of Bath at the end of July with information here: https://rse-south-west.society-rse.org/meetings/2026-07-31-bath/bath-meeting-blog.html
Got something exciting to share? Submissions are open for the 2026 Bennett Oxford Symposium on Open Code in Science!
The Bennett Institute is pleased to announce the 2026 Bennett Oxford Symposium on Open Code in Science! The symposium will take place from 8-9 December at The Examination Schools, 75-81 High St, Oxford OX1 4BG.
The symposium will explore:
• What academia can learn from the open-source software movement
• Why people do – and do not – share their code
• The impact of open source code and software in science and beyond, and
• How AI is changing the open-source landscape.
You can find full details of the event on the event webpage, and you can register using this Eventbrite link. Spots are first come, first served, so be sure to register early!
If you work in open code, or have exciting things to say about it, we encourage you to submit a proposal for a poster, lightning talk (5 mins) or standard talk (10 mins), by 21 September 2026.
CLARO: an open-source decision-support engine for constrained budget allocation
CLARO is an open-source Python decision-support engine for allocating marketing budgets under business and policy constraints. It combines linear programming through PuLP/CBC with scenario evaluation, KPI forecasting and a rule-based interpretation layer designed to make allocation decisions easier to explain.
The software is available through GitHub and PyPI, archived on Zenodo with a DOI, and supported by automated tests, documentation, worked examples and a browser-based demonstration. It has also been independently evaluated against historical business data in a controlled industry review. https://pypi.org/project/claro-engine/
Society Updates
And finally, our regular reminder that we have a number of events, initiatives and resources that you might want to check out. These are linked below.
| Special Interest Groups | We have eight Special Interest Groups being run by our community members, and supported by the Society. Check out our SIGs page to get involved (or start your own!). |
| Events and Initiatives Fund | The Society has Events and Initiatives funding to provide support for events and initiatives which support our mission statement and charitable objectives. |
| Membership | Not yet a member? Why not join us today? We welcome anyone who supports our mission, whether or not they are employed as RSEs. |
| Jobs | A reminder that if you are looking for RSE-related jobs, you can join the #jobs channel on the RSE Slack workspace or visit our vacancies page. Also check out the Work Experience and Internships Section if you are looking for opportunites. |
| Zenodo | We have a Community Zenodo Account for RSEs in the community to share publications about RSE. |
| Podcasts | Code for Thought is back and now in its ninth season, with episodes now in English, German and French. It is available on all major podcast directories, including YouTube. |
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