What is new in Research Software Engineering in Germany?

In February 2023, the German RSE community came together at the deRSE23 conference in Paderborn in-person, for the first time since the global coronavirus pandemic. While this conference may represent the most visible marker of RSE activity in Germany, there are many more activities that show the progress that the German community has made over the last few years. This includes new developments in funding guidelines and policy, community building and infrastructures, collaborations, projects and research topics. In this talk, we will provide an update on the current status of research software in Germany and some of the most interesting developments, not only to share our successes, but also to identify remaining challenges and initiate further knowledge exchange across borders. The talk is informed by relevant initiatives in Germany, such as the German Society for Research Software - de-RSE, as well as their collaboration with other professional societies. It features developments and RSE activities from the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers and universities, as well as the German National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI), and further relevant initiatives. We will furthermore look at topics emerging in Germany with regard to research on research software itself. The talk finally focuses on the development of the RSE community in Germany itself, and serves as invitation to take part in upcoming activities, such as the second Germany-wide RSE event in 2023: the de-RSE unconference.