A Few Words From New ETAPS President

Taking over the role of being the president and steering committee chair of the ETAPS associations is an honor, despite all its responsibilities. I am also quite excited about this role as I can initiate new activities and (try to) convince others that (some) changes make sense.

It is obvious by now that AI techniques impact system design, formal analysis, computation structures, software engineering, programming languages, and arguably any other area in software sciences and science in general. We, as the ETAPS community, have the chance to shape the future of computing for the better, train the next generation of scientists, and disseminate results in a language that is accessible to the general public. ETAPS has always been committed to such activities, and I plan to further consolidate the ETAPS mission.

I am in the lucky situation that ETAPS is set up on solid grounds, it has a strong international reputation, and a thoroughly managed structure. I am therefore extremely grateful to the ETAPS steering committee, and in particular its prior chair Marieke Huisman: the transition of roles since May 2025 (when I have been elected as ETAPS SC Chair and President) has been smooth, without big surprises. I do not claim that I understand by now everything, but I am getting there 🙂, especially, with the help of Thomas Noll, Andrzej Wąsowski, Jan Kofroň, and the local organization team of ETAPS 2026.

In the next months, ETAPS will be faced with important decisions, in particular related to publications, open-access, conference rankings, reviewing policies, and conference management. In the coming weeks, the ETAPS steering committee will revisit and revise some prior decisions on these topics. Clearly, such decisions affect the entire ETAPS community, and I ask everyone to get involved. Start doing this by becoming a member of the ETAPS association—and do this today! We welcome researchers at any level of their academic career—especially junior scientists should not be intimidated. We really need input from everyone, and communications can best happen when we are engaged members of the ETAPS association. Scientists in need should not shy away, but rather contact us for support in forms of ETAPS scholarships and/or volunteering.

The ETAPS main conferences will broaden their thematic foci to be even more inclusive on emerging topics in the theory and practice of software. In addition to theoretical sessions, ETAPS will continue having industry days, ask-me-anything sessions, and lunch roulettes. Speed dating can also break the ice between scientists 🙂! I am open to suggestions, so please just contact me! I am committed to making these events accessible to everyone, with as few parallel ETAPS activities as possible.

Enjoy the present of ETAPS and let us continue working together on its future!