In today’s translation industry, both quantitative and qualitative changes provide a challenge for higher education institutions that offer specialised translator training. These changes include an estimated annual market growth of 10 %, radical technological advancement and the dramatic change of the job profile ‘specialised translator’. However, a number of studies show that HE translator training institutions are unable to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of the translation market. In other words, translator graduates are most often not prepared for an efficient transition to work life. Against this background, e-TransFair aims to bridge the gap between educational outcomes and the actual needs of the translation market, with a focus on specialised translators. With the active involvement of market players, the project intends to equip translator trainees with the skills that are necessary for employability and provide trainers with ICT-based innovative teaching and assessment tools that help develop these skills. Furthermore, the project also aims to provide collaborative platforms and a set of manuals to make the results transferable to other higher education institutions and sustainable in the long run. In line with these objectives, the project is implemented by an inter-sectoral (higher education – market) partner consortium. The Centre for Translation Studies of the University of Vienna and the Centre for Translation and Interpretation of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics are both leading institutions in translator training while Hermes Traducciones, the Spanish translation agency has a leading reputation with well-established links to the academic world. This will ensure that the employer side (the market) is represented throughout the project.To achieve the objectives, the project follows a series of activities leading to the production of seven intellectual outputs. First, the project will define, in form of learning outcomes, the Set of Skills that specialised translators must possess. Special focus is laid on transversal skills and their relevance to employability (Output 1). This activity will also include the setting up of a virtual Skills Laboratory with hardware and software tools that replicates the real-life environment of a professional translation agency. Based on the Skills Set, a transferable Training Scheme (Output 2) designed both for trainees and trainers, will be developed to make it a model for other institutions. The scheme will be piloted in ‘train the trainees’ and ‘train the trainer’ courses, and result in the production of ICT-based educational contents (Common e-Modules – Output 3). Drawing on the previous activities, a Pool of Assessment Techniques (Output 4) will be set up, designed for specialised translation and the needs of the market, providing innovative tools and a set of exam questions. To boost the motivation of both trainers and trainees, a set of manuals will also be developed for the Moodle-based e-modules, the Skills Lab and further quality requirements (Stimuli Provided for UseRs – Output 5). Both the Pool and SPUR will feed into a virtual collaborative space, the Methodology Portal (Output 6). Finally, to reach out to users in a broader EU context and facilitate networking, a Central European Translation Centre (CEC-ICT-Output 7) will be set up.The activities will follow a clear methodology: all three players of the knowledge triangle (trainers, trainees, employers) will be involved in all activities; both primary and secondary resources will be used to identify training and learning needs, meaning a series of questionnaires to be developed throughout the project; to meet quality requirements, project outputs will be piloted, finalised and then regularly monitored, even in the period following the project. These activities will bring a series of results and long-term benefits. At project level, the performance of both trainees and trainers will be improved and brought closer to the market. Moreover, flexible learning modes (Common e-Modules) will ensure the participation of less advantageous groups. At European level, transferable project outputs (Skills Set, Training Scheme, SPUR) will serve as a model for a wider, transnational ‘market – higher education collaboration’ scheme. Furthermore, as trainers will have access to innovative educational resources (PAT, Methodology Portal) and to a network of experts and peer trainers (CEC-ICT), open and innovative pedagogies will be spread throughout Europe – all this contributing to the bottom-up modernisation of higher education, in this specific context.
The project was built on a strong needs analysis and continued at the beginning of the project with a SWOT analysis in Hungary and several profound desk-top researches, interviews, while consciously collecting and adapting all the available best practices and resources of the partners. Strong focus has been placed on the knowledge triangle involving trainers, trainees and market representatives, experts from disadvantageous target groups, external evaluators throughout the project life span. e-TransFair with its outputs bridges the gap between educational outcomes and the actual needs of the translation market, with a focus on specialised translators. With the active involvement of market players, the project could also equip translator trainees with the skills that are necessary for employability and provide trainers with ICT-based innovative teaching and assessment methods and tools that help develop these skills. Furthermore, the project also aimed and provided a collaborative platform with guidebooks, online training materials and set of manuals to make the results transferable to other higher education institutions and sustainable in the long run. In line with these objectives, the project has been implemented by an inter-sectoral (higher education – market) partner consortium. The Centre for Translation Studies of the University of Vienna and the Centre for Translation and Interpretation of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics are both leading institutions in translator training while Hermes Traducciones, the Spanish translation agency has a leading reputation with well-established links to the academic world and to the entire European translation industry through EUATC, the European Union of Associations of Translation Companies. This ensured that the employer side (the market) has always been well represented throughout the project. To achieve all the planned objectives, the project followed a series of activities leading to the production of seven intellectual outputs. In addition to the planned ones several unplanned tangible and intangible outputs have also been developed and built into the training programmes of the partners and used by other trainers as well. All these extra outputs are the results of the synergetic cooperation of the partners. Reached impact was enhanced by the efficient dissemination activities and forced interactivity with all the external stakeholders through various activities, like multiplier events, joint staff trainings, combined dissemination events after transnational partner meetings, special events organised for trainees’, colleagues, trainers. All the planned outputs have been completed by partners, in close collaboration with trainers, trainees and market representatives of the three participating countries and even involving stakeholders from other countries as well such as Ukraine, Slovenia and Germany. More open educational resources, online training materials, train the trainers and train the trainees workshops, publications, conference presentations, joint researches, multiplier events and mentoring programmes have been organised than planned together with several diverse types of synergetic dissemination activities at partners and project level. Most important reached impacts: .- EACEA selected etransfair, as one of the 26 chosen KA2 projects started since 2014, to write a case study about it while examining the reached impact of the entire ERASMUS+ programmes in HE (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UJdUBoGzlP85Ja_wvrjS-ITlGjFR1lf4/view?usp=sharing). - An active cooperation started at EU and national levels among training institutes and trainers dealing with specialised translation and market representatives with the active support from the Hungarian, Austrian and even Slovakian DG Translations. - HE specialised translation training programmes have been renewed at partners and even outside of the partnership through adapting developed innovative project materials and assessment techniques. - New online training programme has been accredited in Hungary, reaching disadvantageous target groups in remote areas and since 2019 even a blind student could enrol to it. - Trainees can benefit the most from our newly developed materials, techniques, CAT tools, which are all in harmony with the real market needs. - All our materials are transferable and available through the website and they have already been adapted by other institutions as well, which significantly contribute to sustainability. - e-COST, our European Online Centre for Specialised Translators will also be maintained by BME and available even after the project ends with all the online portals and materials ensuring long term impacts and continued conversation among representatives and interested parties of the field. See materials on the project website: https://etransfair.eu/