Institute of Translation and Interpreting recognises Westminster’s Students as Co-Creators Project

The project, funded by the University, recruited five professional translators and interpreters for interviews representing the five language pairs of the Translation and Interpreting MA courses in the School of Humanities. The interviews cover a wide range of topics including keeping up to date with industry trends, typical working processes for translators and interpreters, useful tools, tips for marketing and negotiating rates, areas of specialism in high demand and responding to complaints.

Upon viewing the video series on LinkedIn, the ITI requested permission to post the five interviews on their website.  

The videos aim to connect undergraduate and postgraduate Translation and Interpreting students with professionals in the translation industry. It reflects the Employability objective in the University’s Being Westminster 2022-29 strategy and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  

The project is led by Dr Caiwen Wang, Senior Lecturer of Translation and Interpreting Studies. She and Colleague Co-Creators Dr Saskia Huc-Hepher and Zoe Diderich designed the interview questions. Student Co-Creators from the School of Humanities Xin Chen and Ameerah Arjanee interviewed the professionals, while Lok Yiu Roni Tong and Melanie Domingues Tomaz Da Silva from the School of Media and Communications edited the videos to a professional standard.

The project aligns with the Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Bonfield’s vision of the University’s curriculum as being “employability-linked, leading to stronger outcomes and helping prepare our graduates for the world of work and for life. They will have transferable skills and be citizens who contribute positively to their local, national and international communities,” as outlined in the University’s Being Westminster 2022-29 strategy.

About the recognition, Dr Caiwen Wang said: “The project has not just helped our current students gain industry insights from professional translators and interpreters but has also benefited the Student Co-Creators when they walked through the whole process. The Student Co-Creators said they had learnt how to coordinate with each other as a team, how to communicate with professionals in writing and in person and how to work to tight deadlines as needed from time to time. It is amazing that the project is an eye-opening experience for our Student Co-Creators. I hope the impact of the project will continue.”

Former Director of Employability in the School of Humanities and current Assistant Head of School Dr Saskia Huc-Hepher said: “It was an incredibly gratifying experience to see this project from the seed of an idea through to completion. Despite some unexpected hurdles along the way, the interdisciplinary team of students, as well as the academics and professionals involved, all pulled together to make it work. We're delighted with the quality of the final product and the pragmatic insights provided! Our hope is that the series will be an inspiration to budding translators and interpreters, whether still studying or embarking on their careers in the industry.”

Providing the videos for use by the ITI directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education and 17: Partnerships for Goals. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.

To learn more about the Student as Co-Creators programme, contact the Student Partnership team at [email protected].