- SEG-staff - INF Mailman

Seminar Topics
by Timo Kehrer 15 Sep '25

15 Sep '25

Dear all, Thanks for updating the seminar/thesis on GitLab https://gitlab.inf.unibe.ch/SEG/team/courses/seminar-software-engineering/s… All the topics with status "open" will be offered this semester, yielding the following list: T0015 Reducing Simulation Overhead in UAV/Drone Test Generation Using Surrogate Models T0039 Animating Virtual Children: Realistic Behaviors for VR Training in Pediatric Care T0047 Automated Test Selection for Simulation-based Testing of UAVs T0048 Empirical Study on Merge Conflict Dynamics: The Role of Personas in Merge Resolutions T0050 Agent-Based Code Repair T0051 Exploration of Self Reflective LLMs for Code T0052 Persistent Risks in GitHub-Actions T0058 Matlab-Python Transpiler T0059 Architecture Design of Distributed Mobile Search Engine based on Nostr Protocol T0060 Human Tracking Integration for Adaptive Robot Behavior in VR/MR Environments T0061 User Interaction Layer for Mixed Reality Robot Programming T0064 Creating a Core Rule Set for Android Taint Analysis Tools T0065 GPU Performance and Energy Trade-offs in Simulation-based Testing of Autonomous Vehicles T0067 RL-based Training for Code in LLMs I kindly ask you to do a final check ** today, until 13:00 ** Thank you! Timo

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Supervising a grammar school pupil
by Bard, Jan-Andrea (INF) 12 Sep '25

12 Sep '25

Dear all Does anybody fancy supervising a grammar school pupil from 12th Jan to 25th Jan 2026? One could give him some easy to intermediate programming tasks in Python. Cheers, Jan-Andrea

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Master thesis defense: Judi Abdullah
by Boll, Marian Alexander (INF) 10 Sep '25

10 Sep '25

Dear group, I would like to invite you to the Master thesis defense of Judi Abdullah. Judi works on a merging topic, that is currently flying under the radar of research, and explores whether we should change this. The meeting will be completely remote. I am sorry for the short notice and hope you can still attend. Cheers Alex Title: An Empirical Study of Context Modifications in Git Merge Conflict Resolutions Abstract: Merge conflicts are a common challenge in collaborative software development. Resolving them often requires edits that go beyond the conflicting lines, affecting surrounding code and even non-conflicting files. While previous work has studied conflict resolution, the role of context modifications remains less explored. To better understand the impact of these changes in this, so called context, we empirically examine the nature, frequency, and distribution of context changes during Git merge conflict resolution. We focus on changes within conflicting files as well as modifications made to non-conflicting files. We first classify the types of changes developers perform—such as substantive additions, deletions, and modifications, as well as comment edits, whitespace adjustments, and con- tent movements—and measure their frequency in Python and Java projects. We find that substantive changes dominate, but comment edits and structural changes are also common, particularly in Java. Next, we analyze how changes are distributed across merge commits, conflict files, and context chunks. Most context changes are small and local, but some involve extensive edits and restructuring, showing a long-tail distribution. We also study modifications in non-conflicting files, where developers add or remove substantive content. A partial correla- tion exists between the stability of conflict and non-conflict files, suggesting that while many conflict resolutions are local, some require broader adjustments across the codebase. Finally, we examine the impact of resolution strategies (e.g., “ours,” “theirs,” “manual”). Manual strategies are linked to more extensive modifications, while canonical strategies tend to yield more stable results. These findings show that conflict context and non-conflicting file changes occur frequently and are important for understanding merge conflict resolution. The results highlight patterns that can inform the design of better automated merge tools, especially those that account for unstable regions and broader edits beyond conflicts. This work contributes both practical guidelines and a dataset for future research. Our study provides a labeled dataset of merge conflicts with detailed information on context stability and resolution strategies. Overall, it includes more than 28,000 conflicting files containing over 37,000 conflict chunks and 72,000 context chunks, as well as more than 13,000 non-conflicting files. ________________________________________________________________________________ Microsoft Teams Need help?<https://aka.ms/JoinTeamsMeeting?omkt=en-US> Join the meeting now<https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OGQzNDU3M2UtZjNhZS00…> Meeting ID: 337 079 862 127 9 Passcode: 68E3LM79 ________________________________ For organizers: Meeting options<https://teams.microsoft.com/meetingOptions/?organizerId=05aca28f-23b8-4ea6-…> [https://unibeidbistoragedeskmgmt.blob.core.windows.net/intune-blob-storage/…] https://serviceportal.unibe.ch/sp ________________________________________________________________________________

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Fwd: Any interested students in volunteering for ICT4S'26?
by Timo Kehrer 28 Aug '25

28 Aug '25

Dear all, If you're interested (s. below), please let me know. Best, Timo -------- Weitergeleitete Nachricht -------- Betreff: Any interested students in volunteering for ICT4S'26? Datum: Wed, 27 Aug 2025 13:36:39 +0000 Von: Nitish Patkar <nitish.patkar(a)fhnw.ch> An: Kehrer, Timo Benjamin (INF) <timo.kehrer(a)unibe.ch> Dear Timo We are checking around to see if there are any students who are interested in volunteering for the ICT4S’26 to be held at BFH in Bern. Attached is preliminary description of tasks and responsibilities for the reference. Could you ask in your group? Best Nitish ------------------------------------------------------------ FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland School of Computer Science Institute for Interactive Technologies IIT Research associate Bahnhofstrasse 6 CH-5210 Windisch, Switzerland ------------------------------------------------------------ Email : _nitish.patkar(a)fhnw.ch_ Web [1]:_https://nitishpatkar.com/ <https://nitishpatkar.com/>_ Web [2]: _https://www.fhnw.ch/en/iit <https://www.fhnw.ch/en/about-fhnw/schools/school-of-engineering/institutes/…>_ Web [3]: _http://scg.unibe.ch/staff/NitishPatkar_ ------------------------------------------------------------

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Seminar Topics for the Fall Semester
by Timo Kehrer 23 Aug '25

23 Aug '25

Dear all, Please make sure to have your seminar projects/topics ready by Sept. 5 (if you want to offer any). I will then do a sanity check on all proposals, and we will publish the approved ones in the week Sept. 8-12 on the website. A template for descriptions is on GitLab, where you should also add your new topics (or re-open existing ones): https://gitlab.inf.unibe.ch/SEG/team/courses/seminar-software-engineering/s… As a reminder: Seminars are meant to be preparations of a student thesis, and ideally closely aligned with your research. https://seg.inf.unibe.ch/teaching/courses/seminar-software-engineering/ Thank you! Best, Timo

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EnhanceR Symposium 2025
by Timo Kehrer 22 Aug '25

22 Aug '25

Dear all, just as a reminder: If anybody is interested in that one, feel free to register and attend https://symposium.enhancer.ch/ Participation is free of charge, and we could pay for travel expenses to Fribourg. Best, Timo

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Fwd: Anfrage zu internen Themenvorschlägen für Bachelorarbeiten in Informatik
by Timo Kehrer 15 Aug '25

15 Aug '25

Hi all, did Livia Brunner the seminar with us? Somehow this name sounds familiar to me. However, I cannot find her name in the seminar GitLab, but maybe it's not a 100% complete.. Best, Timo -------- Weitergeleitete Nachricht -------- Betreff: Anfrage zu internen Themenvorschlägen für Bachelorarbeiten in Informatik Datum: Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:49:32 +0200 Von: Brunner, Livia (STUDENTS) <livia.brunner(a)students.unibe.ch> An: Kehrer, Timo Benjamin (INF) <timo.kehrer(a)unibe.ch> Sehr geehrter Herr Prof. Dr. Timo Kehrer, ich studiere derzeit Informatik im Bachelor an der Universität Bern und plane, im Frühlingssemester 2026 meine Bachelorarbeit zu beginnen. Da ich mich aktuell mit möglichen Themen auseinandersetze, wollte ich mich erkundigen, ob es innerhalb Ihrer Arbeitsgruppe bzw. Ihres Fachgebiets eine interne Liste oder Ideen für Bachelorarbeitsthemen gibt, auf die ich zurückgreifen könnte. Vielen Dank für Ihre Zeit und Unterstützung. Ich freue mich auf Ihre Rückmeldung. Mit freundlichen Grüssen Livia Brunner

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Action Required: Review of Older VMs on Calculon/Hydra by 11.07.2025
by Ohrndorf, Manuel (INF) 11 Aug '25

11 Aug '25

Dear all, Could everyone who has a VM for themselves or their students on our servers (Calculon or Hydra) please review and directly edit the following spreadsheet by 11.07.2025? The sheet lists older VMs that are currently unassigned in the SEGLab VM manager. old_unassigned_vms.xlsx<https://1drv.ms/x/c/f29fdeb58a11645a/EffGQ4AStM1EsMsznxug3OoB43tM5pbMLxWaYE…> For each VM, please indicate one of the following options: * A. Assign (and migrate): If the VM is still in use, enter "yes" and provide the email address of the current user(s) (supervisor and student(s)) of the VM. In general, you can also consider requesting a new VM using our Ubuntu Server and Desktop template<https://calculon.inf.unibe.ch:11000/en/virtual-machines>. * B. Archive (default 1.6.2026): The VM will be removed from the manager, but the disk image will be archived until the specified retention date and can then be deleted. Please provide: * Archive retention time (e.g., 1.6.2028) * Email of the responsible person (e.g., supervisor) * C. Delete: Enter "yes" if the VM can be deleted immediately. If no action is taken by 11.07.2025, I will proceed to archive the unassigned VMs by default (as in option B). Thank you for your support in keeping our infrastructure organized! Best, Manuel

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Re: Research Study Invitation: Ethical AI in Self-Driving Cars
by Panichella, Sebastiano (INF) 11 Aug '25

11 Aug '25

Dear Researchers at SEG, We are contacting you to study the public perception of ethically appropriate behavior of self-driving cars (SDCs). The aim is to explore how individuals judge the behavior of SDCs in various scenarios, and how these judgments reflect personal moral values. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, and all responses are anonymous. https://forms.gle/iNWvsKUiMGWq953A7 We would be grateful if you could submit your response by September 10th. Thank you for your time and contribution to our research! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. Best regards, Yelyzaveta Kurkchi and Catia Trubiani, Gran Sasso Science Institute, Italy Christian Birchler and Sebastiano Panichella, University of Bern, Switzerland ________________________________ From: Yelyzaveta Kurkchi <yelyzaveta.kurkchi(a)gssi.it> Sent: Monday, August 11, 2025 12:28 PM To: Computer Science Postdoc <cs-postdoc(a)gssi.it> Cc: Catia Trubiani <catia.trubiani(a)gssi.it>; Birchler, Christian Martin (INF) <christian.birchler(a)unibe.ch>; Panichella, Sebastiano (INF) <sebastiano.panichella(a)unibe.ch> Subject: Research Study Invitation: Ethical AI in Self-Driving Cars Dear Computer Science Postdoctoral Researchers at GSSI, We are contacting you to study the public perception of ethically appropriate behavior of self-driving cars (SDCs). The aim is to explore how individuals judge the behavior of SDCs in various scenarios, and how these judgments reflect personal moral values. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, and all responses are anonymous. https://forms.gle/iNWvsKUiMGWq953A7 We would be grateful if you could submit your response by September 10th. Thank you for your time and contribution to our research! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. Best regards, Yelyzaveta Kurkchi and Catia Trubiani, Gran Sasso Science Institute, Italy Christian Birchler and Sebastiano Panichella, University of Bern, Switzerland

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ICSE 2026 Cycle 2
by Timo Kehrer 28 Jul '25

28 Jul '25

Dear all, Please find my review assignments for the 2nd submission cycle of ICSE 2026 below. If you are interested in reviewing one of the papers, please let me know. We will do the internal discussion in the week August 18-22. Best, Timo #901 LogSumm: Log Summarization Using Large Language Models #1356 Senate: Policy-Driven Change Management in Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) #1579 Integrated Structural and Behavioral Analysis of UML Class Diagrams with the Class Diagram Analyzer #1864 From Generation to Reasoning: Chain-of-Thought Guided Merge Conflict Resolution #2757 LLM-Based Automated Simulink Modeling: From Requirements to Model #3382 Historian: Leveraging Community Validated Patches to Determine Patch Correctness #3925 OntoMTL: Canonical Bidirectional Transformation between Metric Temporal Logic and the Web Ontology Language #5369 Fine-Grained Analyses for Evolution-Aware Runtime Verification

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