Awakening: Modern Challenges and Opportunities of Software Engineering Research

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Spinellis, Diomidis, Kotti, Zoe
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866912977881399296
author Spinellis, Diomidis
Kotti, Zoe
author_facet Spinellis, Diomidis
Kotti, Zoe
contents Software engineering research benefited for decades from openly available tools, accessible systems, and problems that could be studied at modest scale. Today, many of the most relevant software systems are large, proprietary, and embedded in industrial contexts that are difficult to access or replicate in academia. We review how the field reached this point, identify structural challenges facing contemporary research, and argue that incremental methodological refinement is insufficient. We discuss practical directions forward, including industrial PhDs, long-term industry-academia collaborations, larger research teams, moonshot projects, and changes to funding and evaluation practices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_21403
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Awakening: Modern Challenges and Opportunities of Software Engineering Research
Spinellis, Diomidis
Kotti, Zoe
Software Engineering
Software engineering research benefited for decades from openly available tools, accessible systems, and problems that could be studied at modest scale. Today, many of the most relevant software systems are large, proprietary, and embedded in industrial contexts that are difficult to access or replicate in academia. We review how the field reached this point, identify structural challenges facing contemporary research, and argue that incremental methodological refinement is insufficient. We discuss practical directions forward, including industrial PhDs, long-term industry-academia collaborations, larger research teams, moonshot projects, and changes to funding and evaluation practices.
title Awakening: Modern Challenges and Opportunities of Software Engineering Research
topic Software Engineering
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.21403