The Chair of Software Engineering, in collaboration with Dr. Julian Dehne, is offering the seminar “Research Software Engineering Management and Communication” as part of its teaching program for Master’s students in computer science and related disciplines. The seminar provides a practice-oriented introduction to key competencies required in the field of Research Software Engineering, with a particular focus on management and communication aspects.

A central objective of the seminar is to pilot course content and teaching methods that are also utilized within potential concrete implementations of the Master’s Curriculum in Research Software Engineering. By embedding these elements into an interactive seminar format, the course serves as a testbed for innovative educational approaches tailored to the needs of future Research Software Engineers.

Participants are introduced to essential methods and practices that are highly relevant in the day-to-day work of RSE professionals. These include, among others, stakeholder communication, requirements elicitation in research contexts, and project coordination. The seminar emphasizes active learning and encourages students to apply these methods in realistic scenarios.

In the second phase of the seminar, students engage directly with researchers and Research Software Engineers from various domains. Through structured interviews, they explore domain-specific challenges related to the development and maintenance of research software. Based on these insights, students develop case studies that analyze the identified problems and propose potential solution strategies grounded in the methods learned within the seminar.

The seminar is accompanied by a systematic study that evaluates both the learning outcomes and the effectiveness of the teaching methods employed. The results of this evaluation will contribute to the further refinement of the RSE curriculum and support evidence-based improvements in teaching practice.

Overall, the seminar provides students with valuable hands-on experience at the intersection of software engineering and research, while simultaneously advancing the development of a structured educational framework for Research Software Engineering.