Software has become fundamental to (and omnipresent in) our society. No aspect of society is not enabled or mediated by software, and industry leaders have proclaimed that “every business is now a software company.” Additionally, software greatly boosts scientific progress and underpins many of our critical infrastructures (like electricity or telecommunications).
However, the complexity of software continues to increase. The total volume of software is growing at an exponential rate. Software is ubiquitous but remains extremely difficult to build and maintain effectively. Even more to guarantee their accuracy, reliability and performance. Europe has been at the forefront with many innovations in software but now risks falling behind. The ever-increasing size and complexity of software, and the explosion in the use of AI, urgently require new techniques and principles to address the software challenges of the future, preserve autonomy and Europe’s sovereignty, and protect fundamental values such as privacy, security, fairness, and inclusion.
Together, we can advance software engineering research and ensure Europe’s leadership in this critical field.