bwRSE4HPC – Research Software Engineering Support for High-Performance Computing in Baden-Württemberg

Research software plays a central role in modern science, yet many research groups struggle to make their code efficient, scalable, and sustainable — especially when working with high-performance computing (HPC) systems. Challenges include a lack of time, limited training in software engineering, and high turnover among developers due to fixed-term research positions. As a result, performance, reproducibility, and long-term usability are often compromised.

To address these issues, the bwRSE4HPC initiative was launched in 2025 as a collaboration between the Scientific Computing Center (SCC) at KIT and the Scientific Software Center (SSC) at Heidelberg University. Funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and Arts of Baden-Württemberg, the initiative offers researchers in the state direct access to a team of Research Software Engineers (RSEs). Our goal is to help research groups improve their software for better performance, scalability, and usability — with a particular emphasis on efficient use of HPC infrastructure.

We support short- and mid-term projects (typically 4–24 weeks), focusing on practical improvements such as parallelization, GPU acceleration, profiling and optimization, improving build systems, and integrating language bindings or automated testing. All support is free of charge and tailored to the needs of individual research groups.

This poster introduces the goals, structure, and scope of bwRSE4HPC and presents a selection of real-world software projects supported in its first year. These examples highlight the kinds of improvements we help achieve and demonstrate the value of dedicated RSE expertise — not only for established HPC users but also for researchers new to the field.

While the initiative is specific to Baden-Württemberg, the challenges it addresses are common to research communities worldwide. We hope this work can serve as inspiration or blueprint for similar efforts in other regions looking to strengthen sustainable and efficient scientific software development.