Open hackathon to prototype discipline-overarching Research Software Engineering (RSE) frameworks.

RSE practice and training remain fragmented along disciplinary lines, with each field reinventing tooling, conventions, and teaching material. We are running an open hackathon to prototype discipline-overarching RSE frameworks — shared, reusable building blocks that work across the social sciences, life sciences, and the humanities rather than within a single silo.

In two days, the team will produce an overall system design (such as a UML diagram) and a working end-to-end prototype. We will use a thin-slice approach: rather than spending time building a complete database or UI, we will connect just enough of each layer to show a user interacting with a real, working feature.

Practical information

The two-day hackathon will take place at University of Glasgow, Scotland on the 26th and 27th of November 2026:

  • Day 1: lightning talks framing the challenges, team formation, and prototyping
  • Day 2: build a short showcase and a community roadmap for carrying winning prototypes forward.

Hybrid attendance for remote contributors is also possible.

The coolest module gets an award and stipend.

Register to join the event

The event is funded by CHARTED.