Florian Thierry
The deRSE25 at KIT in Karlsruhe was a fantastic event. Thanks to the JuRSE / FZJ Travel Grant, I had the opportunity to participate in two capacities: (1) as an independent Research Software Engineer working in the field of Computational Archaeology and Digital Humanities with the Research Squirrel Engineers Network and CAA-DE e.V., and (2) as an RSE within the NFDI4Objects consortium and Co-Chair of the WG RSE in the Common Infrastructures section.
In both roles, the deRSE conference provided an excellent platform for interdisciplinary exchange, offering a welcoming atmosphere and a great setting to discuss current developments, challenges, and problems in Research Software Engineering.
deRSE is a conference where like-minded individuals come together, making it an ideal event for networking. Through talks, the evening poster session, Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions, and meet-ups, there were plenty of opportunities to connect with colleagues from entirely different fields during breaks and social events. As someone already engaged in the community—having served as Vice-Treasurer of deRSE e.V. for several years—I was able to foster international and interdisciplinary discussions about emerging technologies and challenges. The exchange with other RSEs from the NFDI was particularly valuable, as it reassured me that I am not alone in facing challenges within my own consortium—something that, it turns out, many others are experiencing as well.
One of the most thought-provoking discussions revolved around the role of RSEs within institutions, especially in the context of NFDI. The conversations explored how RSEs are perceived in comparison to traditional Software Engineers (SEs) and the evolving understanding of our profession within academia and research infrastructure. As a trained geoinformatics specialist, it was particularly interesting for me to contribute to these discussions, sharing my perspective on how research software engineering intersects with domain-specific expertise and software development. These exchanges highlighted the need for clearer career paths for RSEs and institutional recognition of our contributions to scientific research.
A highlight of my participation was presenting the Research Squirrel Engineers Network, a volunteer-driven initiative that explores RSE solutions for the Semantic Web, Linked Open Data, and Wikidata. This initiative garnered significant interest, particularly our SPARQLing Unicorn QGIS plugin, which integrates knowledge graphs into the FLOSS GIS software QGIS. Discussions focused not only on the technical aspects but also on how a volunteer-based, Europe-wide initiative can efficiently communicate, manage projects, and document progress.
Furthermore, my demonstrations on using Jupyter Notebooks and Python to query and visualise SPARQL queries from Wikidata sparked insightful discussions. It was rewarding to see my solutions resonate with colleagues from international research institutions and to exchange ideas on optimising workflows for linked open data applications.
All in all, deRSE25 was a highly successful conference where I was able to establish new contacts, strengthen existing collaborations, and gain fresh inspiration for future events—such as the upcoming CoRDI 2025 in Aachen.
Thiery, F. (2025). Research Squirrel Engineers - How an independent RSE-driven network may help the NFDI. Squirrel Papers, 7(3), λ6. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14914287
Thiery, F., & Schubert, L. (2025). Jupyter Python Minions - Simplifying SPARQL Queries and Visualisations for Archaeological Data. Squirrel Papers, 7(3), λ7. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14914309