Research

The Department of Translation Studies at the University of Innsbruck was founded in 1945 and is one of three university departments in Austria where research and teaching in the field of translation and interpreting is carried out. At our department, students can study Translation Studies in the Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes with German as a foreign language, and English, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish as working languages. There is also the option of doing a doctoral degree as part of the doctoral programme. The academic mission of the department is to advance our discipline through future-orientated research.

Our scientific goal is to describe, explain and model translational phenomena according to the highest scientific standards. We attach particular importance to the link between research, teaching and practice: on the one hand, we apply our translation science research to the specific challenges of the language industry with all its stakeholders and benefit significantly from our practical experience. On the other hand, the principles of research-led teaching and developing our own translation didactic tools based on the latest scientific findings are at the heart of our educational philosophy.

In concrete terms, this means we focus on cognitive, linguistic, sociological and cultural aspects of translation and interpreting, translation technologies and questions of translation didactics in our research. Through the organisation of international conferences, conference contributions and publications in renowned formats as well as the publication of relevant series, our department is an integral part of the international scientific community. Attractive mobility formats for teaching staff and researchers enable us to maintain strong international partnerships and thus make international transfer of knowledge and academic cooperation possible.

Attaining a degree our department enables graduates to work in a wide range of language and cultural mediation professions related to the practical application of translation today; it also qualifies them to work in academia and thus to research and assist in shaping the translation industry of tomorrow. The option of attaining a doctoral degree programme offered by the Faculty of Philological and Cultural Studies provides attractive access to an academic career.

We also take our responsibility to society seriously and actively pursue knowledge transfer in addition to research and teaching. We maintain contacts with schools in the region and organise various initiatives to ensure that our subject and its social relevance are known to a broad public. We also regularly offer further education and training programmes (e.g. in the field of community interpreting in collaboration with the Continuing Education Department of University). There is close cooperation with relevant professional associations, a wide range of stakeholders and institutions from business, culture, diplomacy and politics as well as international research institutions.

As advancing globalisation and digitalisation pose ever greater challenges for international communication, translation and the demands placed on professional translators and interpreters are changing rapidly. At our department, we are responding to these developments by pooling our expertise and collaborating with research networks within the university. We strive to strengthen translation research as a scientific discipline in which the process and product of translation in all its forms and in all its complexity are recognised and described. In particular, we aim to research the linguistic, cognitive, cultural, sociological and technological factors influencing translation; this includes making empirical data available and explaining it with adequate theories. We endeavour to acquire funding for ambitious research projects and also aim to contribute to reciprocal interdisciplinarity through our research. In all our scientific activities, we are committed to the principles of Good Scientific Practice and Open Science.