The largest edition of the Brazilian Software Congress brought together approximately 900 participants at the Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science of the University of São Paulo (USP) from September 8 to 11 to discuss the challenges facing a field undergoing rapid transformation.
Researchers, students, and professionals from across Brazil and abroad gathered at the University of São Paulo (USP) from September 8 to 11 to discuss the future of software research and development. Held at the Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science (IME) on the Butantã campus, the Brazilian Conference on Software: Theory and Practice (CBSoft 2026) brought together approximately 900 participants, including representatives from 25 Brazilian states, international researchers, and professionals from technology companies. According to the organizers, this was the largest edition of the event to date, featuring more than 370 scientific papers. Among the technical sessions and discussions on various aspects of software development, artificial intelligence emerged as one of the central themes of the conference.
“Artificial intelligence is impacting every aspect of human life, including software production and software engineering. It has both positive and negative influences. Therefore, it is very important for the community to discuss these impacts in order to maximize the benefits, always keeping in mind that we want human beings—not machines—to remain at the center of things,” said Fábio Kon, professor at IME and one of the organizers of CBSoft. In his view, the transformations driven by AI require the scientific community itself to critically assess the effects of these emerging technologies.
Roberto Marcondes Cesar Junior, Director of IME, addressed the changing role of computing professionals. As tools based on large language models become increasingly capable of generating larger portions of code, issues such as quality, security, maintenance, and accountability take on new dimensions. “Today, programming is no longer carried out solely by programmers; artificial intelligences and AI agents are increasingly writing code under the guidance of the programmer. The professional is becoming something of a conductor, orchestrating these artificial intelligences to produce software,” he explained.
These issues are also connected to research currently underway at the Institute. Examples highlighted by the Director include projects involving artificial intelligence for mobile devices and smart cities, as well as the Center for Science for Development in Artificial Intelligence for Mathematics and Innovative Learning (CCD IAMAI), based at IME and dedicated to the responsible development of educational technologies.
Bridging Academia and Industry
Collaboration between universities and industry was another prominent theme at CBSoft 2026. Representatives from technology companies participated in panels and discussions alongside researchers and students, bringing practical software development challenges into the conversation.
According to Professor Rodolfo Azevedo of the Institute of Computing at the University of Campinas (Unicamp), this relationship creates a cycle of mutual exchange. While universities educate professionals and advance new research, engagement with companies helps identify real-world problems that can inspire new scientific questions. “Having companies working alongside us allows us to better understand the problems and challenges they face and how we can contribute to addressing them. It is a two-way channel: bringing challenges to us while also allowing us to present our solutions,” he said.
For Benício Goulart, Software Development Manager at Motorola/Lenovo, engagement with academia enables companies to stay informed about cutting-edge research while presenting researchers and students with the challenges encountered in industry. “It is extremely important for Motorola to understand what is happening at the state of the art, to maintain contact with academia and other companies, and to bring the practical problems we experience into discussions with students, researchers, and professors. Our goal is to bring these solutions into industry and apply them,” he stated.
Motorola maintains research collaborations with USP groups, including teams at IME and the São Carlos campus. According to Goulart, such partnerships help companies incorporate innovation into environments that are often focused on operations and the application of existing technologies.
Brazilian Research in Dialogue with the World
CBSoft 2026 also welcomed international guests who shared diverse perspectives on the future of software engineering. In his first participation at the conference, Roberto Di Cosmo, researcher at the French National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (INRIA), said he was impressed by the size of the Brazilian software community and by the close relationship between universities and industry in the country.
According to Di Cosmo, this proximity allows researchers to work on concrete problems while enabling industry to benefit from scientific advances. Founder of the Software Heritage initiative, dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing publicly available source code, he also discussed the importance of such repositories for fields ranging from software engineering to cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
For Paulo Meirelles, professor in the Department of Computer Science at IME and coordinator of the event, the presence of international researchers contributes significantly to scientific development by expanding exchanges among research groups. “Science is built on interaction among peers. Face-to-face meetings amplify these exchanges. Through paper presentations, participants receive feedback, scientific collaborations are formed, and even though this is a Brazilian conference, having international guests is essential so that we can also be part of the global scientific community,” he said.
Looking Toward the Future
This year’s edition also established a connection with high school students through a dedicated program that allowed them to present projects, attend lectures, and interact directly with researchers and professionals.
A group of 15 students from the Federal Institute of São Paulo (IFSP), São Carlos campus, participated in the event under the supervision of Professor Jorge Francisco Cutigi. The students, enrolled in the Technical Program in Internet Informatics, presented projects developed through scientific initiation and interdisciplinary activities. According to their teacher, experiencing a university of USP’s scale and participating in a national scientific conference added a new dimension to their education. “The infrastructure, the variety of programs, the number of people—everything about it is an experience they will never forget. It is a different environment from what we have at our institution and an incredible learning opportunity,” he said.
Among the students was Grazielly Cardoso, a second-year high school student who presented research comparing the performance of generative artificial intelligence tools in solving programming exercises. Beyond the scientific results, the experience helped her gain greater clarity about her future plans. “I was very uncertain about whether I wanted to pursue programming or another field. I think the event helped me truly define my goals. Programming is something I want to pursue in my life, and the conference was very important in helping me realize that,” she said.
Opportunities for Students
Created in 2010 by the Brazilian Computer Society (SBC), CBSoft was hosted at USP for the first time in 2026. The program included four of Brazil’s leading symposia in the field—the Brazilian Symposium on Software Engineering (SBES), the Brazilian Symposium on Programming Languages (SBLP), the Brazilian Symposium on Software Components, Architectures and Reuse (SBCARS), and the Brazilian Symposium on Systematic and Automated Software Testing (SAST)—as well as eight thematic workshops and several parallel activities.
“CBSoft plays the role of bringing this community together and creating opportunities through keynote talks, panels, research tracks, industry tracks, thesis and dissertation competitions, and undergraduate research competitions. It is an event composed of many activities that allow participants to engage directly with software science and engineering in Brazil,” emphasized Thaís Vasconcelos Batista, President of the Brazilian Computer Society.
Hosting CBSoft is part of a broader schedule of scientific events organized by the Institute. According to Roberto Marcondes Cesar Junior, IME hosts approximately one event every two weeks, making conferences, workshops, and scientific meetings a regular part of academic life. For the Director, this dynamic environment provides students with opportunities that extend far beyond the classroom: attending talks by international experts, presenting research, meeting companies, building professional networks, and gaining firsthand exposure to discussions that may shape the future of their profession.
Guilherme Rosa, Communications Office, Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science (IME-USP)