Within Üsküdar Üniversitesi's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of English Translation and Interpreting, a Simultaneous Interpretation Laboratory and a Translation Technologies Laboratory have been opened. The laboratories, where students will receive practical training, are equipped with the technology required by the age. While the simultaneous interpretation laboratory allows students to practice in a professional booth environment, the translation technologies laboratory offers industry-focused courses with artificial intelligence-supported written translation tools. Speaking at the opening of the laboratories, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan emphasized that artificial intelligence cannot replace humans in translation. The laboratories are expected to make significant contributions to students in terms of gaining professional skills and academic development.
The opening ceremony, held at Üsküdar Üniversitesi South Campus A Block, was attended by Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Rector Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Kaynak, Associate Dean Dr. Nihan Kalkandeler Özdin, Head of the English Translation and Interpreting Department Dr. Hümeyra Genç, faculty members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Feride Zeynep Güder, Dr. Nafi Yalçın, Dr. Melda Enginsu, Lecturer Gözde Büklüm, and Research Assistant Paşa Bayramoğlu, along with university administration and departmental faculty members.
The laboratories, launched with the slogan 'If we don't translate, the world doesn't turn,' are expected to make significant contributions to students' educational processes.
Simultaneous Interpretation Laboratory opened…
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: 'Artificial intelligence cannot be a translator-interpreter, but it can be helpful'
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan made striking remarks on artificial intelligence and translation. Tarhan stated that artificial intelligence cannot be a translator-interpreter. Tarhan said, 'Artificial intelligence is not conscious, but humans are conscious. Therefore, I do not think that artificial intelligence can correctly perform the translation-interpreting system. It is not a conscious structure; it can be guided, manipulated, and make mistakes. That's why the final decision must be made by a human. This topic also comes up in psychotherapies. In human psychology, there are discussions like, 'Can a therapist be artificial intelligence?' Artificial intelligence cannot be a translator-interpreter, but it can be helpful, it makes the job easier. However, it cannot understand emotions. Emotions cannot be calculated, and theoretically, for now, it is something that cannot be mathematically modeled, so it cannot be translated by artificial intelligence. But consciousness is such a thing that, for example, during anesthesia, a person's consciousness is shut down, but when they wake up, they return with the same consciousness. A computer's IP can change, but a person's consciousness does not change, as if it were its own IP. It remains the same. When a person is born, all the substances in their body change over time, but their consciousness does not. That's why consciousness is a unique human condition.'
Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör: 'It will make great contributions to the upbringing of well-equipped individuals'
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Rector Prof. Dr. Nazife Güngör, in her speech at the opening ceremony, wished the laboratories to be beneficial. Stating that the education students will receive in these new laboratories will offer the opportunity to perform translation duties in the university's international events, Güngör emphasized that this practice will be a valuable experience for students. Güngör also noted that it will make a significant contribution to students being raised as individuals well-equipped both theoretically and practically.
Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Kaynak: 'Laboratories will make learning more efficient'
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Kaynak emphasized that the new laboratories are an important step in increasing the quality of education. Stating that the laboratories will make a great contribution to the professional development of students, Kaynak expressed her satisfaction with the opening, thanked everyone who contributed, and wished success to the students.
Dr. Hümeyra Genç: 'Our efforts will continue without slowing down'
Head of the English Translation and Interpreting Department Dr. Hümeyra Genç, in her speech at the opening ceremony, talked about the significant innovations the laboratories have brought to the department. Expressing her happiness about this development, Genç emphasized that the work would continue without slowing down and that the entire team would work with dedication to equip the students in the best possible way.
Lecturer Gözde Büklüm: 'Students gain one-on-one experience'
Lecturer Gözde Büklüm, responsible for the laboratory, touched upon the technical infrastructure and importance of the laboratory in education. Büklüm stated, 'Our laboratory has 20 headphones, and our classroom has a capacity for 30 people. We conduct most of our interpreting courses in this laboratory. The importance and value of our newly opened laboratories are immense. Because thanks to the work done here, students gain experience by directly simulating the translation booths they will work in in real life. This experience offers them both experience and the opportunity to recognize equipment they might encounter in different fields, preparing them for various scenarios in the future. In this laboratory, we conduct our courses on Introduction to Interpreting, Note-Taking Techniques, Consecutive Interpreting, and Simultaneous Interpreting. In a completely sound-insulated environment, our students listen to different speeches with a high-quality sound system and translate between English-Turkish and Turkish-English. Our laboratory can host 30 students as listeners. Additionally, we have two translation booths, and four students can interpret simultaneously in these booths on a rotational basis. In interpreting practices, we usually work in rotation with a booth partner every 20 minutes. Our students also enter the booths in groups of two and learn this practice hands-on. These booths were built according to international market standards. They include headphones, microphones, and sound systems. We wish our students success in advance and can promise them a well-equipped education that keeps pace with today's technologies.'
Dr. Nafi Yalçın: 'Our dream has come true'
Dr. Nafi Yalçın stated that the opening was the realization of a goal. Yalçın said, 'One of our goals when opening the department was to establish this laboratory. We especially wanted our senior students to receive training in this laboratory before graduation. We prepared a project with our departmental instructors. As part of the project, we administered a pre-test to our students at the beginning of the semester. We will also conduct a post-test at the end of the semester. Thus, we will be able to measure the contribution of the education in this laboratory to our students' translation experience. Afterwards, we aim to evaluate the data we obtain and publish this work as an article that can be indexed in Scopus.'
Second opening held at the Translation Technologies Laboratory
Research Assistant Paşa Bayramoğlu: 'We offer practical and modern education'
Research Assistant Paşa Bayramoğlu, responsible for the laboratory, provided information about the content of the second laboratory. Bayramoğlu said, 'In the Written Translation Technologies Laboratory, courses on artificial intelligence translation are conducted in the spring semester. Subsequently, in specialized translation courses such as legal and medical translation, these contents are addressed in an integrated manner with translation technologies. In the fall semester, more introductory level compulsory courses are offered. In this context, basic translation technology training is provided, especially to second and third-year students. Our laboratory has a capacity for 35 people and provides practical training opportunities for our students. We actively use the most up-to-date artificial intelligence tools of our age. In addition, we work with practical and web-based versions of the most commonly used computer-assisted translation tools in the industry. Thus, we train our students in line with the current dynamics of the sector. In summary, the education we provide offers current and practical content where translation technologies and artificial intelligence are combined. During this semester, we particularly focused on artificial intelligence training. In our courses, we cover current translation trends as well as specialized fields like medical and legal translation integrated with technologies. In the fall semester, we provide our students with more basic-level compulsory courses that prepare them for the industry.'
Simultaneous Interpretation Laboratory features
• Equipped with 20 headphones.
• Has a classroom capacity for 30 people.
• 30 students can be present in the laboratory as listeners simultaneously.
• 2 translation booths are available.
• In each booth, 4 students can interpret in rotation (in groups of two).
• Booth practices are done rotationally every 20 minutes, as in professional life.
• Offers a completely sound-insulated environment; external sound isolation is provided.
• Has a high-quality sound system.
• Students can listen to speeches and translate between English-Turkish and Turkish-English.
• Courses such as Introduction to Interpreting, Note-Taking Techniques, Consecutive Interpreting, and Simultaneous Interpreting are conducted here.
• Booths are built in accordance with international translation standards.
• Booths include headphones, microphones, and professional sound systems.
Translation Technologies Laboratory features
• Has a classroom capacity for 35 people.
• Students are provided with direct access to translation tools through practical courses.
• Artificial intelligence-supported translation tools are actively used.
• Artificial intelligence translation courses are conducted in the spring semester.
• Specialized field translations such as medical and legal translation are carried out in an integrated manner with translation technologies.
• Basic translation technology courses are offered to second and third-year students in the fall semester.
• Education is conducted with web-based and computer-assisted translation tools.
• The educational content has a current and practical structure that combines translation technologies with artificial intelligence.
• In the courses, technological skills suitable for current translation trends and sectoral needs are acquired.