75 years of history
The IUED Institute of Translation and Interpreting at the ZHAW is celebrating its 75th anniversary and with it the future of professional multilingualism. Sprachen verbinden – connecting cultures and communities.
A systematic focus on expertise, early internationalisation and an emphasis on the highest quality standards: It is this recipe for success that has seen a “school for linguistic and general education” founded in 1946 give rise to the renowned former “Dolmetscherschule Zürich” or “DOZ” (Zurich School for Translation and Interpretation) and finally the internationally recognised IUED Institute of Translation and Interpreting at the ZHAW. Looking ahead, it is the IUED’s 75-year history and roots in the practice of translation that will form the basis for its future. Against the backdrop of a prospering language industry, the future promises many new fields of work in which professional multilingualism will find itself in demand (Translation, diversification and corporate communications) – for both the IUED and its graduates.
On 17 June 2022 – with a slight delay due to the coronavirus pandemic – the professional multilingualism and linguistic mediation taught and researched at the IUED was celebrated. The guest speakers highlighted
- the cultural challenges of communicating across language barriers (Jean-Marc Piveteau, President of the ZHAW)
- the need for translation between views and perspectives even within a language (Daniel Perrin, Dean of the ZHAW School of Applied Linguistics)
- the changing everyday work of professional translators and interpreters against the backdrop of the digital transformation (Giovanna Lo Piccolo, conference interpreter and Co-President of the Swiss interpreters’ and translators’ association).
More on the anniversary
The IUED and the language industry: a longstanding friendship
They are translators, conference interpreters, terminologists, language enthusiasts, content and media managers and technical editors. What’s more, they are all multilingual. And it was during their degree programme that the graduates of the IUED and DOZ honed the skills required for their current careers. In the blog post (in German), Florian Faes, Christine Kamer Diehl and Stephan Pörtner share their memories and thoughts on translation and the language industry.
“At the DOZ, I learned to use language as a tool”
While he may not be a name on everyone’s lips, he is certainly heard. As a presenter on SRF 1, Mike La Marr is a familiar radio voice to many people in German-speaking Switzerland. However, he is actually a translator. To mark the 75th anniversary of the IUED Institute of Translation and Interpreting at the ZHAW, he shares his story of how he came to study at the DOZ after a foray into chemistry. How did his training as a translator prepare him for his job and what skills that he acquired during this time does he still draw on today?