MELA47630: Translation Ethics and Intercultural Project Management with Work Placement

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• To provide a grounding in international regulations relating to the translation profession
• To introduce the essential issues facing contemporary professional translators
• To present a coherent and accessible way of identifying legal and ethical issues
• To introduce the complexities of managing projects in a business context with a focus on the specific issues of the project management of multilingual and multicultural projects
• To provide an introduction to project management methods and practices
• To provide the opportunity for students to take control of their own learning experience in a professional environment
• To provide the opportunity to plan and experience a bespoke programme of study which will meet specified objectives agreed with the module coordinator (e.g. to work as part of a professional team; to engage with practical issues of administration and business planning; to work as a support to an experienced team of translators; to shadow a translator).
• To provide the opportunity of learning through a work placement, either in the UK or abroad, in accordance with the University regulations, acquiring skills from practitioners in a professional environment

• The module provides a grounding in how international regulations inform the translation profession
• The module focuses on essential issues facing contemporary professional translators
• The integrated and focused plan of the course provides students with a coherent and accessible way of identifying legal and ethical issues
• The module addresses the location and accessioning of useful translation resources, specifically to technical aids to translation, both printed and electronic
• The module also focuses on the essential theoretical notion of the self-reflective translator and the activist translator
• Students taking this module will have agreed and signed an agreement for a work placement with a provider by the last week of Epiphany Term. The student can take up a work placement among existing agreements between Durham University and employers, or a placement found by the student.
• Students who agree their own work placements outside those provided will have to formulate clear learning outcomes they expect to attain from the experience and agree with the module coordinator the details of their work experience, prior to starting the work placements.
• The introductory classes will set out feasible goals and targets and agree deadlines for submission of the summatively-assessed assignments.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of this module, students are expected to:
• Develop an in-depth knowledge of appropriate codes of conduct
• Acquire a knowledge of good business practice
• Develop a theoretical understanding of the essential legal parameters regulating professional behaviour and personal ethics in translation
• Understand the themes, principles and techniques appropriate for project management and how these skills can be transferred into the translation context in relation to the specific needs of the target audience(s) of intercultural management
• Acquire an understanding of the business processes in relation to translation as a professional activity.

Subject-specific Skills:

• By the end of this module, students will acquire the ability to:
• Assess ethical difficulties in a professional setting
• Locate legal resources to understand issues relevant to ethical conduct and appropriate business practice
• Negotiate appropriate working conditions
• Evaluate appropriately the complexity of business or personal insurance for liability
• Run a translation project effectively
• Work under time constraints
• Communicate effectively when working in a team
• Work towards respecting a deadline
• Set up a personal development plan to reflect on personal performance
• Set a task that can be completed
• Report in a professional style in writing
• Assess critically the learning progress in the experience
• Use CAT tools or translation technologies in a professional setting
• Revise and use MT translation in a business.

Key Skills:

• Students will develop the following key skills:
• The effective use of negotiating skills
• The ability to engage in independent assessment and evaluation of professional behaviour
• The ability to critically engage in the development of disciplinary boundaries and norms (especially engaging with the issue of copyright and intellectual property)
• The skills necessary to undertake a higher research degree (e.g. in translator ethics and business ethos)
• The ability to communicate results and findings effectively both orally and in writing
• The location and coordination of resources to contribute to successful and profitable completion of projects
• Managing personal time and that of a project team
• Assessing the professional skills required for a project manager working in the translation industry
• Evaluating appropriately the complexity of business practices in project management
• Communicating effectively both orally and in writing in a range of scenarios from daily routine to harmonization and implementation of changes in a team
• Planning, monitoring and controlling all stages of a project through to completion
• Identifying translation problems, proposing resolutions and managing risks through project management protocols including quality control during the revision, validation, and final checking of product(s) (translations) stage prior to closing the project
• Using personal initiative to establish work patterns and collaborative models
• Organisational and time management skills
• The use of IT resources and facilities
• The ability to work as a member of a team
• The ability to evaluate personal achievements in relation to self-imposed targets
• The ability to produce clearly structured and professionally presented written work.

• Teaching will consist of 8 one hour lectures each followed by a one hour seminar delivered fortnightly over the Michaelmas and Epiphany terms, followed by 2 two hour workshops on the work placement at the end of the Epiphany term.
• The module includes of a minimum of 120 working hours of work placement (the equivalent of at least three weeks of full-time work experience or 6 weeks part-time) normally to be completed during June July.
• Teaching methods include a combination of lectures and seminars based on problem-solving activities and analysis of real-world scenarios.
• Lectures will introduce the key methods, themes, principles and practices of project management and codes of conduct and ethical dilemmas as well as principles and practices of project management.
• Seminars will be student-centred and based on problem-solving.
• The students will discuss real scenarios, and participate in debates on liability and responsibility
• Students completing placements outside the University environment will have up to one hour of individual consultation time with the placement supervisor or module coordinator.
• The module will be assessed by means of an essay (2,500 words) to be submitted at the end of Epiphany term and a final reflective report (2,500 words) produced at (or towards) the end of the placement.

The formative assessment consists of student presentations being delivered in the course of the seminars, with immediate verbal feedback provided by the lecturer, and individual feedback on report plans and placement experiences.

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