Establishing central Research Software Engineering units in German research institutions
<ns3:p>Abstract* This position paper urges decision makers in Germany to establish central Research Software Engineering (RSE) units within their institutions. The focus is not put primarily on the establishment of RSE services in general, as this has been done already elsewhere. Instead, we highlight central RSE units. Motivation for their existence is discussed, underpinned by working examples both in neighbouring fields as well as outside of Germany. The heart of this paper is a vision of a central RSE unit, its structure, and the definition of nine core support modules such a unity may provide. An initial survey finds that there is considerable diversity within the module distribution, even within the few considered groups. We discuss initial observations on possible clusters, but further studies are needed. Finally, we discuss realisation strategies. While this paper focuses mostly on the German academic environment, some general strategies should also apply elsewhere.</ns3:p>
Authors
- Philipp Matthias Schäfer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3931-6670)
- Iris Ehlert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0418-5198)
- Jan Linxweiler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2755-5087)
- Florian Goth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2707-4790)
- Robert Speck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3879-1210)
- Alexander Struck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1173-9228)
- Uwe Schmitt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4658-0616)
- Frank Löffler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6643-6323)
- Jean‐Noël Grad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5821-4912)
- Michael Schlottke‐Lakemper (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3195-2536)
- Dominic Kempf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6140-2332)
- Markus Ankenbrand
- René Caspart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5502-9412)
- Magnus Hagdorn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5076-4864)
- Philipp S. Sommer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6171-7716)
- Leyla Jael Castro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3986-0510)
- Axel Loewe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2487-4744)
- Bernd Flemisch
Institutions
- University of Stuttgart (DE)
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE)
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)
- University of Augsburg (DE)
- Schiller International University (FR)
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- Zurich Insurance Group (Switzerland) (CH)
- University of Würzburg (DE)
- German Climate Computing Centre (DE)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Scientific Services (ZA)
- ZB MED - Information Centre for Life Sciences (DE)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (DE)
- Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (DE)
- Cluster of Excellence "Matters of Activity. Image Space Material" (DE)
- Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE)
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (DE)
- Heidelberg University (US)
- Technische Universität Braunschweig (DE)
- Software (Spain) (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- F1000Research
- Published
- 2026-05-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.171263.1
- Primary Topic
- Scientific Computing and Data Management
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking
- Australian Government
- European Commission
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung