The 5th Forum on Teaching and Research of Translation and Interpreting and the Seminar on the Construction of Translation and Interpreting Discipline in the Digital Era was successfully held in Hefei University of Technology (HFUT) from July 7th to 9th. The event was co-organized by the School of Foreign Studies (SFS) of HFUT and the Translation and Interpreting Teaching Steering Committee of Anhui Foreign Language and Literature Association (AFLLA) under the leadership of Anhui Council for Specialized Cooperation on Foreign Language and Literature Teaching and Research and AFLLA. Leaders present at the opening ceremony include Ding Lijian, vice president of HFUT, Zhang Ailing, secretary-general of China National Committee for Graduate Education of Translation and Interpreting, and Zhu Yue, president of AFLLA. Approximately 150 experts, scholars, and students from Beijing Language and Culture University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, and Anhui University attended the forum and the seminar.
In his speech, Ding Lijian congratulated the forum on its successful opening, and then introduced the development of HFUT and the construction of its foreign language disciplines. He emphasized that the translation and interpreting teaching should be adapted to the change of the times, with the focus on the need of the national strategies and regional economic and social development. He also pointed out that upgraded digital intelligence and technical innovation should be applied to enable better foreign language teaching, and more efforts should be exerted to train students into high-level and applied language service professionals smart with digital and intellectual knowledge. Zhang underscored in her video speech that translation and interpreting teaching and research are important parts of the national efforts in building translation and communication capacity. She urged universities to integrate the socialist education concept with Chinese characteristics in the new era with artificial intelligence technology, and promote innovation in translation teaching. Zhu Yue stressed that new path and new mode should be produced and applied to the cultivation of high-level and applied language service personnel. Only a better training of students can lead to a better introduction of China to the world.
The digital transformation of education has promoted the innovation and development in the field of translation and interpreting. Invited experts and scholars in their keynote speeches at the forum noted that as artificial intelligence in the new era has brought about structural changes and pressure on language services, China now needs urgently a group of high-end applied translation and interpreting professionals who are able to introduce China and express Chinese discourse to the world by translation and interpreting. Therefore, they called for strengthening the development of translation and interpreting discipline and enhancing the core competitiveness of students majoring in language and culture. They also suggested changes in connotation development and training mode for translation and interpreting students, promotion of school-enterprise cooperation in training, and deeper research into translation, interpreting and other humanities and social sciences
Under the forum are three sub-forums, respectively focusing on topics of cultivation of translation and interpreting personnel responding to the demands of national strategies and regional economic and social development, construction and development of the translation and interpreting discipline empowered by digital intelligence, and translation and interpreting research and service-teaching-learning integration for the development of translation and interpreting discipline. At the forum, participants were so active in discussion and idea exchanges.
At the forum, the teachers from the SFS well presented the school: Professor Hu Zuoyou delivered a keynote speech; Li Kangxi and Pan Chenxi demonstrated CAT class teaching and interpreting class teaching respectively; Min Xuan, Liu Julian, Zhao Qin, and Zhou Yiping introduced their papers at sub-forums. The attending experts and representatives spoke highly of the efforts and achievements of the SFS in translation and interpreting teaching.
Professor Zhang Derang, dean of the International Education School of Anhui Normal University, wrapped up the forum with a summary and presided over the host flag handover ceremony. Tang Jun passed the flag to Wang Xianrong, dean of the School of Foreign Languages of Anqing Normal University.
This forum served as a platform for theoretical research and case exchanges, particularly in translation and interpreting teaching and research in Anhui, through which, the exchanges and cooperation between the universities have been greatly strengthened in the field of translation and interpreting. Teachers of HFUT engaged in foreign language teaching will continue to work diligently with peers in Anhui and beyond to explore how to better develop the translation and teaching discipline and how to better train students into qualified professional translators and interpreters.
