Title: Socio-Technical Resilience in Research Software Engineering
Date: 21.10.2025
Time:11:30-12:30
Location: Humboldt-Kabinett, Rudower Chaussee 25, 12489 Berlin
Abstract:
Software quality is influenced by a multitude of factors, from technical, to organisational, to cultural. This talk uses a ‘resilience engineering’ lens to study this issue. This entails examining what helps research software engineering (RSE) teams – and the codebases they create – to respond well and adapt to changes and threats, which are viewed as inevitable. It will explore the role of the professional identity in supporting resilience within the individual, and examine how resilience may be affected by the professional culture in which someone works.
Bio:
Caroline Jay is a Professor of Computer Science and Head of Engineering Research at the University of Manchester, where she leads the institution’s AI for Research and Digital Infrastructure Strategies. She is qualified as both a Psychologist (BA, CPsychol) and Computer Scientist (MSc, PhD), and undertakes research exploring the relationship between humans and technology. She is Research Director of the Software Sustainability Institute and holds a Mercator Fellowship at Humboldt University of Berlin.