Research software development is an essential, integral part of research activity and has a significant influence on the quality of research results. Research software supports science by aiding acquisition, analysis, simulation and visualization of data and complex processes, enabling collaboration between researchers, and improving science communication. The British Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) has coined the slogan "Better Software - Better Research", and we are sure it applies to geosciences as much as any other scientific discipline.

However, the current approaches to research software as well as the recognition of research software engineering (RSEng) do not adequately reflect the importance of this work. The Research Software Engineers (RSE) in the Geosciences townhall meeting brings together contributors to reseearch software who might or might not already self-identify as Research Software Engineers (RSE). We get to know each other and share experiences from career development, job searches, employers/institutions/organisations, or practical challenges with computers, data & software.

The agenda includes short reports on previous activities for RSEs at EGU and introductions of local chapters (e.g. UK, Germany, The Netherlands, ...). If you are interested to contribute to RSEng actions in the context of EGU or share your experiences, please fill out the survey at https://bit.ly/rse-survey-egu