The EuroSTAR programme is created by the community, for the community. We are delighted to present our 2026 Programme Committee, led by Elmar Jürgen.
The Committee’s job is to help build a programme that we can all be proud of, one that delivers the best content we can find from around the world.
EuroSTAR 2026 Programme Chair
Elmar is both a researcher and entrepreneur. He earned an award-winning PhD for his work on static code analysis and remains active in the field of software quality research.
In 2009, he co-founded CQSE GmbH, where he and his team of 60 help international development teams leverage software intelligence to build better software, faster. We can’t wait to see what Elmar has planned for EuroSTAR 2026!
2026 Programme Committee
Elmar
Jürgens
Fiona
Østensvig
Richard
Seidl
Sophie
Küster
Willem
Keesman
About our Programme Committee
Fiona Østensvig – Norway
Fiona is professional test leader and advisor, and she loves to meet people and discuss diversity and collaboration.
How can we get better together? – is one of her mantras. She has given several workshops and talks at conferences in Europe and Norway. Fiona has also been an active board member in the Norwegian computer society for many years.
She was part of the group started up Odin, a testing conference in Norway. She has both held the role as program chair and is now a part of the programme committee.
Willem Keesman – Netherlands
Willem works as a practice lead for SopraSteria Benelux and has been active in the test profession for 12 years. He loves the international test community and to organize events. He has spoken at AutomationSTAR twice and several smaller events. Apart from attending conferences he enjoys blogging, being a podcast guest and engaging with the community. His free time he spends being outdoors, playing board games and D&D and baking pizza’s
Richard Seidl – Germany
Richard “Richie” Seidl is a software testing expert, Agile quality coach, author, and international keynote speaker. With 25 years of experience in industries such as finance, logistics, and automotive, Richie helps teams improve software quality, implement agile testing, and automate effectively. Richie believes that great software requires a holistic approach that aligns people, context, methods, and tools. He has seen the full spectrum of software, from brilliant to broken. As the host of two popular software testing podcasts and the author of several books, Richie shares insights that inspire a mindset for innovation and better software.
Sophie Küster – Germany
As a child, Sophie wanted to be a ballerina or an astronaut. Or both. Today, holding diplomas in math and yodeling, she’s a test automation engineer at cronn, a Bonn, Germany, based IT company. After years of successfully hunting bugs, she now also dares to look behind the curtain as a developer so she can cut out the middle person and introduce the bugs herself. Sometimes she speaks at conferences.
No stranger to the universe’s gut punches, she is passionate about improving awareness and communication about mental health and self-care.
When she’s not busy testing or coding away at her computer, you can find her on a stand-up paddle board, in a tent (surprisingly often in the rain) or at a ballet barre. Sadly never in a space ship.
Community Reviewers
Each year, members of the testing community that give their time, knowledge and experience to review the hundreds of EuroSTAR talk submissions. Each reviewer takes a manageable fraction of the total submissions and this helps our Programme Team create the EuroSTAR programme with the most relevant topics each year.
If you are interested in joining our panel of reviewers for 2027, please contact our Programme Manager, Siobhán, via email. Thank you to everyone who reviewed our 2026 submissions .
When we say the EuroSTAR Conference programme is created by the community for the community – this is not just a catchphrase! It is the cornerstone of what EuroSTAR is about. Our annual conference and the year-long online learning is all to help testers and quality assurance professionals thrive. Working together, the testing community is a powerful force and it helps everyone to develop and improve.
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