Software engineers now have an unprecedented duty to design, implement, and maintain systems that are not only technically sound but also morally upright, sustainable, and socially just, given society's increasing reliance on software. There is an urgent need to reconsider our professional practices in light of recent events, including the environmental implications of large-scale AI systems, technology-facilitated harms, bias and fairness in automated decision-making, and the rise in e-waste resulting from short software–hardware lifecycles. This requires software engineers to incorporate mechanisms for delivering social Responsibility, sustainability, and ethical reasoning into the software development lifecycle, i.e., to make Responsible Software Engineering (RSE) a normal practice. This workshop aims to bring together scholars, practitioners, and educators to share ideas, concepts, and techniques for integrating Responsibility into requirements engineering, design, testing, deployment, and/or maintenance. 

There has never been a more pressing need for Responsible Software Engineering (RSE). From healthcare and education to financial institutions, transportation, and climate action, software systems are increasingly influencing every facet of contemporary civilization. With enormous benefits come bigger questions: How do we make sure that the systems we create do not negatively impact the environment or society? What obligations do software engineers have as professionals, considering algorithmic bias, technology-facilitated violence, climate change, and the rise in digital inequality?

Our Goals 

By establishing a specific platform to discuss, debate, and promote responsible practices, this workshop aims to help the software engineering community to address these urgent issues. By fostering communication across fields and industries, it aims to close the gap between academic research and business practice. Our goal is to answer questions like:

1. How can software engineers strike a balance between global duty, long-term sustainability objectives, and innovation?

2. How can sustainability and ethics be systematically integrated into requirements engineering, design, and testing processes?

3. How can software engineers maximize the benefits and minimize the harms that arise from software-based systems?

4. How can software engineers become more reflective and responsible to reduce societal and environmental harm from software systems?

5. How to transfer the notion of Responsibility in software engineering education and training?

6. How to resolve tensions between commercial goals and responsible innovation?

Aims and Objectives 

This workshop aims to explore and promote the understanding of Responsibility in the software engineering domain, comprising software design, processes, and products. Besides identifying responsible roles, we seek to explore best practices, methods, and frameworks through which Responsibility can be understood and transferred in the software engineering world, as well as elements that integrate Responsibility throughout the software development life cycle. The intended objectives of the workshop can be summarized as follows:

1. To explore, define, and operationalize the notion of Responsibility across all stages of software engineering

2. To explore how Responsibility manifests and evolves across diverse technological and societal contexts.

3. To offer opportunities for researchers to discuss future research aspects of Responsibility.

4. These objectives shall be supported in the workshop through the following actions:

5. Working sessions to discuss topics and apply the emerging ideas to case studies and empirical evaluation.

6. Provision of a platform for educators, researchers, and practitioners to present their current work and stimulate discussion.

7. Support for group work and discussion on newly favored topics.

8. Kickstart new collaborations between the workshop participants.

9. Co-creation and publication of a road map on Responsibility in Software Engineering.

10. Dissemination of the workshop ideas and results at the main conference.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

1. Modes and Manifestations of responsibility in software engineering.

2. Responsibility throughout the Software development process, i.e., Responsible requirements engineering, Responsible design, Responsible coding, Responsible testing, Responsible operation, and Responsible maintenance.

3. Forward and backward Responsibility

4. Responsibility and ethical, social, and ecological norms in software projects

5. Responsibility and well-being of developers and data engineers

6. Software engineering and corporate social Responsibility

7. Responsible and ethical AI

8. Responsible software vs sustainable software 

9. Responsibility in software applications, e.g., IoT/IIoT, Smart Cities/homes, LLMs, Games, and Virtual and augmented reality.

10. Responsibility in algorithm design and deployment, including Responsible platform governance, Responsibility in digital infrastructures, Algorithmic accountability and explainability, and Responsibility in data practices

11. Teaching strategies to transfer knowledge about responsible software engineering

12. Role descriptions and tasks that assume “Responsibility” in software projects

Flyer ResponsibleSE2026

👉 Download the Call for Papers (PDF)