National Network for Interpreting

University of Leeds

The University of Leeds Centre for Translation Studies (Lead partner)

The Centre for Translation Studies (CTS), headed by Professor Tony Hartley, occupies a prominent position in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC) which is a leading UK centre for international-quality research, scholarship and teaching.

The School of Modern Languages and Cultures belongs to the Faculty of Arts, which was ranked 55th in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement (2006) and is home to over 2000 students and 140 staff.

The CTS caters for graduates from diverse geographical origins and delivers highly-qualified trainees with sought-after linguistic and technological skills. With a specialist team of high profile professional practitioners and full-time academics, the Centre for Translation Studies trains students to interpret and translate between English and some 10 different spoken languages and provides essential pathways for professional linguists in a wide range of sectors.

In addition to research and research degrees in translation studies, the Centre is responsible for the provision of five postgraduate taught masters programmes, three of which are in interpreting. The annual admission to these five programmes is between 100 and 120 students.

The University of Leeds is recommended by AIIC (International Association of Conference Interpreters).

University of Bath

The University of Bath Department of European Studies and Modern Languages

Bath was ranked ninth among UK universities by The Guardian and The Times and 11th by the Sunday Times in 2006.

European Studies & Modern Languages is one of the largest departments in the University, and unique in the UK. The Department enjoys an international reputation for its research and was awarded a 5 rating in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise. It was also selected by the European Commission as one of only a few UK Jean Monnet Centres of Excellence.

The Department owes much of its early reputation to the success of the highly-regarded MA in Interpreting and Translating, which in its earliest form was established more than forty years ago and has provided (and continues to provide) many of the professional linguists working in major European and international institutions. The addition in recent years of Chinese and Japanese streams has further enhanced the programme’s reputation and appeal. It was complemented in 2003 by the MA in Translation and Professional Language Skills.

University of Salford

The University of Salford School of Languages

The School of Languages has a thriving community of students following its postgraduate taught programmes and recruits annually between 60-80 students (across seven languages). These programmes are informed by the tenets of “educating for capability” and “making languages work” and combine a coherent academic curriculum with a strong vocational focus.

The School also has an established and growing network of alumni who are now key players in the profession. The programmes encompass a well-established network of professional student placements within the Graduate Apprenticeship and are underpinned by the strength of its research and the input of highly-experienced practitioners across the curricula.

The School recently launched a dedicated Centre for Translation and Interpreting, headed by Professor Miriam Salama-Carr, which brings together teaching, research and consultancy in translation and interpreting.

University of Westminster

The University of Westminster School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages

Westminster was the first UK institution to launch training in conference interpreting. The Postgraduate Diploma was founded in 1963 by a former Chief Interpreter at UNESCO. Since 1998, the University has offered the MA in Conference Interpreting. It is now the leading course of its kind in the UK and is one of two British courses recommended by AIIC.

The University was the first coordinating institution for the prestigious EMCI (European Masters in Conference Interpreting) consortium, which was set up by 15 European universities in 1997. The consortium is supported financially by the European Commission (DG SCIC) and the European Parliament (Directorate for Interpretation). For more information see www.emcinterpreting.net Language combinations of nine or more mother tongue (A Language) groups form part of the course each year. The programme offers the most diverse range of language combinations in the UK including many language combinations of the new member states and these change in line with market demand.

The University of Westminster is recommended by AIIC (International Association of Conference Interpreters).

The University of Sheffield

School of Modern Languages and Linguistics University of Sheffield

The University of Sheffield has developed an innovative undergraduate degree that combines all the benefits of a traditional modern languages degree with modules that begin to develop the skills students need to enter the interpreting profession. The pedagogical design of the course is based on Seleskovitch and AIIC models and is similar to that adopted by the best MA courses. However, the fact that it is taught at undergraduate level allows us to devote some time to discussing the theoretical models that underpin the profession and its history.

University of Sheffield students and staff have been active in testing and providing feedback on the tools developed for the National Network for Interpreting website.

Heriot-Watt University

The Department of Languages & Intercultural Studies at Heriot-Watt University is recognised as being one of the leading departments in the UK for training translators and interpreters and is one of only three British members of CIUTI, the International Permanent Conference of University Institutes of Translators and Interpreters.

Created in 1970, the Department has a long history of higher education in Translating, Interpreting and European Studies and offers programmes in interpreting and translating at various levels and covering a wide range of languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Greek, Arabic, Chinese, and British Sign Language).

In addition to its core activities of teaching and research, which is carried out within the Centre for Translation and Interpreting Studies in Scotland, the Department also offers consultancy services to a range of key organisations and houses Integrated Language Services, a commercial agency offering translation, interpreting and conference services.