Established in 1982, the University of Surrey Centre for Translation Studies (CTS) is one of the UK’s leading centres for research, scholarship and teaching in translation and interpreting. CTS has recently secured funding for strategic expansion, which will enable the centre to integrate its established expertise in how professional translators/interpreters interact with, and adapt to, emerging technological ecosystems with research into the automation of these practices. This expansion project seeks to recruit eligible PhD candidates who are willing to conduct research in the following area:
PhD in Human-Centric Uses of Technology in Translation/Interpreting
At the Centre for Translation Studies, we are dedicated to cutting-edge research, scholarship and teaching in translation, interpreting and other forms of inter- and intra-lingual communication. As human practices of translation and interpreting are increasingly supported, enhanced and sometimes replaced by technologies, our vision is to promote a human-centric approach to technology use in translation and interpreting. Our research therefore focuses on integrating our knowledge about how human translators and interpreters approach their task and how they interact with and through technologies with research into the automation of these practices. We are seeking to recruit an intellectually strong PhD candidate who is interested in pursuing a research project in the area of human-machine integration and interaction in any modality of translation, audiovisual translation or interpreting.
The successful project will need to rely on a solid, eclectic mixed-methods approach benefiting from cross-fertilization among different disciplines (e.g. translation studies, multimodality, human-computer interaction, machine learning/artificial intelligence, natural language processing, corpus linguistics) to explore topics such as the usability of/social responsibility in automated translation solutions, productivity, workflow optimisation, quality, the development of tools, resources and training for enhanced communication across languages and types of languages, data ownership and user experience. Projects will be evaluated on the basis of originality (topicality and urgency of the research questions) and methodological innovation. The successful candidate will benefit from excellent technological working conditions, international contacts, and a stimulating interdisciplinary work environment.
Supervisor profile:
Professor Sabine Braun
Sabine Braun is Director of the Centre for Translation Studies. Her research focuses on new methods and modalities of interpreting and translation, including video-mediated distance interpreting, technology-enhanced interpreting, and automated audio description. Sabine has led and participated in funded research projects in these areas and supervised over 20 PhD students.
Prof. Constantin Orasan
Constantin Orasan is a Professor in Language and Translation Technologies. Constantin’s main research focus is on how methods from Natural Language Processing can help professional translators. Other areas of research of interest for him are automatic summarisation, text simplification, corpus linguistics, and machine learning for NLP. To date, he has successfully supervised to completion 8 PhD students.
This is a 3 year project starting in January 2022.
Entry requirements
First class or upper second class BA and Master’s level degree (or international equivalent) in Translation Studies, Linguistics, Computer Science or related field.
English language requirements: IELTS test (test not older than 2 years): 6.5 or above (or equivalent) with at least 7.0 in the writing component and at least 6.0 in the other components.
How to apply
Applications can be made through the CTS PhD in Translation and Interpreting page. Please state project title clearly on your research statement – this statement should be 1,000 words long, excluding references and must be uploaded in .DOC format in the “research proposal” area of the application portal. Applicants should also include a copy of their CV, two academic references and their completed academic degrees and degree transcripts. Applicants are encouraged to email Prof. Constantin Orasan ([Email Address Removed]) first to discuss their application.