Cockburn, O., Wang, C. and Aboelezz, M. 2022. Translating Rare Dementias. Making a Difference through Simulated Agency Experience. APTIS 2022 4th Annual Conference: Translation and Interpreting pedagogy in a post-pandemic world: New opportunities and challenges. University of Leeds, UK 18 - 19 Nov 2022
| Title | Translating Rare Dementias. Making a Difference through Simulated Agency Experience. |
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| Authors | Cockburn, O., Wang, C. and Aboelezz, M. |
| Type | Conference paper |
| Abstract | In the post-pandemic era, we are even more aware of the importance of preparing our students for translation in health contexts, not just to enhance their learning experience but also to help them realise their work’s value to translation users in real life. Funded by external and internal grants, in the 21-22 academic year we ran a medical translation project on dementia for our MA/MSc translation students via a simulated agency. Dementia affects millions of people worldwide and 5-15% live with a rare form of dementia. To help people understand these rare dementias, the UCL-led Rare Dementia Support (RDS) service shares research-based, disease-specific information on their website, which is accessed from all over the world. This paper describes how UCL’s Centre for Translation (CenTraS) collaborated with the RDS to open up their website to speakers of other languages by setting up a simulated translation agency for CenTras students. The extra-curricular scheme aimed to give translation students practical, hands-on experience of working within a team to produce high quality translations for an external ‘client’ (RDS). Thirty-three students volunteered to take part, producing translations into French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese (traditional and simplified). Students acted as translators and/or reviewers under the guidance of four CenTraS staff ‘project managers’. Thanks to grants from The National Brain Appeal and UCL, they were paid for their work in vouchers. Students’ names will also be added to the website to acknowledge their efforts, allowing them to provide evidence of work experience to future employers. In this paper, we share the lessons we learned and challenges we faced. We discuss the feedback we received from students, and we talk about the amendments we have made to the scheme this year. |
| Keywords | Translation, health, interdisciplinarity, translation agency, professional experience. |
| Year | 2022 |
| Conference | APTIS 2022 4th Annual Conference: Translation and Interpreting pedagogy in a post-pandemic world: New opportunities and challenges |