London Met's Translation department worked with the European Graduate Placement Scheme (EGPS) to host a conference and placement fair for graduates of translation.
On 6 November, Farid Aitsiselmi (Principal Lecturer in Translation) and Maite Gonzalez (Senior Lecturer in Translation) organised a conference in collaboration with Helen Astley from the Erasmus-funded European Graduate Placement Scheme (EGPS). EGPS aims to improve the work-readiness of students through a curriculum providing authentic tasks to mirror industry practices as well as a framework for practical work placements embedded within Translation programmes.
The morning discussion revolved around the keynote speaker’s presentation by Dr Don Kiraly from the Faculty of Translation Studies at the University of Mainz, Germany. Dr Kiraly’s research has focussed on collaborative, project-based learning in translator education which he developed in his well known books such as: A Social Constructivist Approach to Translator Education (2000) and Towards Authentic Experiential Learning in Translator Education (2015), as well as in some 40 articles and book chapters on the topic. Dr Kiraly referred to the various well-known two-dimensional, linear models of translator competence development that have been a major theme of translation studies for over the past decade. He then moved beyond them to a multidimensional, dynamic view of learning, instructional design and, finally, the work placement as a key integral component of the curriculum.
The afternoon was devoted to various sessions enabling language service providers and universities to meet to arrange internships and plan future collaboration. The feedback from the participants proclaimed the event a great success , and also highlighted how it served as a stepping stone to expand the relationship between academic programmes and work placement providers in the field of translation.
