Introducing CIUTI
Initiated in 1960, CIUTI (pronounced [’sju:ti]) is the world’s oldest and most prestigious international association of university institutes with translation and interpretation programs. Devoted to excellence in T&I training and research, the CIUTI family tries to address the continuous challenges of T&I in the light of changing market needs and ongoing research.
Full membership of CIUTI is restricted to institutions of higher education offering degrees in translation, interpretation and multilingual or intercultural communication. This status is acquired upon successful completion of a quality-based admission procedure. Associate membership of CIUTI can be bestowed on institutions, organizations and associations who subscribe to the CIUTI mission statement and cooperate with CIUTI, and is by invitation only. CIUTI is a non-profit association under Belgian Law, and is run by a Board whose members are elected by the General Assembly of CIUTI member institute delegates.
CIUTI anticipated and formulated central objectives of the European higher education reform – especially the promotion of student and teacher mobility – as long as fifty years ago.
CIUTI shares the goals of the recent EMT (European Master’s in Translation) network project of the EU DGT, namely to safeguard translator and interpreter training based on state-of-the-art courses of study, didactics and practice. But there are also fundamental differences. As the “I” in its name signals, in contrast to the “E” in EMT, CIUTI is not limited to Europe, but operates on a truly international level. For this reason, CIUTI has member institutes in Beirut, Minsk, Monterey (California), Montréal, Beijing, Saint Petersburg, Shanghai and Seoul, among others. A major difference between CIUTI and EMT is the importance attached to T&I research: Applicants for CIUTI membership must demonstrate that they are not merely “translation trainers” (even if they are very successful in this regard) but also productive and respected in T&I research, e.g. in terms of publications, conferences, doctorate programs and number of Ph.D. graduates.
Typically, the CIUTI admission procedure takes one year from the application. In addition to checking its documentation (similar to EMT), the CIUTI Admission Commission sends two neutral university teachers to the applying institute on a fact finding mission. This may involve the inspection of didactical-technical equipment (e.g. simultaneous interpretation training systems, language laboratories, computer workstations, etc.), checking the availability of up-to-date software such as specific translation tools (TMS, terminology management, automatic translation software, localization tools, subtitling tools etc.) and generic word processing and DTP software and looking at the library collection and its availability.
They talk to teachers and students, sit in on courses, are present at interpreting examinations, check written examinations as well as Bachelor’s and Master’s theses. The Admission Commission assesses the evaluation results from the documentation and visits on site and writes a recommendation for admission or non-admission. This is presented to CIUTI members at the annual General Assembly as a basis for their decision. Given these requirements and efforts, it is understandable why the circle of CIUTI members is growing only very slowly and that the CIUTI projects a certain elitist image, which is indeed even cultivated by some members.
Graduates from CIUTI institutes work in various fields of intercultural communication; most of them are translators or terminologists engaged in technical documentation. Thus it is logical that CIUTI cooperates with tekom. Already in the past, tekom was present at CIUTI institutes (e.g. at Lessius, Antwerp, or IALT, Leipzig), and an important step forward towards more visibility is CIUTI’s presence at the tcworld conference 2011.
Contact
www.ciuti.org
Schmitt[at]ciuti.org