This year, the Hryhorii Kochur Department of Translation Studies and Contrastive Linguistics celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary. The International Online Conference “Teaching Translation and Interpreting in Higher Education” was held on 7-8 December 2023 to mark the anniversary. The conference was solemnly opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Associate Professor Liubomyr Borakovskyi. Afterwards, Oksana Dzera, Head and Professor of the Hryhorii Kochur Deapartment of Translation Studies and Contrastive Linguistics, spoke about the history of the department and its achievements. Prof. Dzera emphasized the role of Professor Roksolana Zorivchak, the founder and longtime head of the department.
During the plenary session, the conference participants had the opportunity to listen to engrossing speeches by Prof. Vyacheslav Karaban from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Prof. Leonid Chernovaty, who represented both V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and Matej Bel University in Banska Bystrica (Slovakia), Prof. Danielle D’Hayer from London Metropolitan University, Prof. Lucyna Harmon from University of Rzeszów (Poland), and Associate Professor Oleksandr Bondarenko from the Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State University.
The breakout sessions of the conference were devoted to the following topics: ” Translating Ukraine to the World: Strategies for teaching translation that enhance Ukraine’s visibility and understanding on the international stage”, ” Teaching Various Types of Translation: From literary and audiovisual translation to specialized fields: sharing best practices”, “Technology in Translation Education: Integrating tools and software into the curriculum to prepare students for the digital age”, ” Teaching Interpreting: Where tradition meets innovation – bridging the gap to futureproof trainee interpreters”. Representatives of universities from Ukraine, Poland, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Slovakia attended the sessions.
At the end of the conference, a roundtable discussion “Interpreter Education and Training in the Context of Ukraine’s European Integration Processes” was held to discuss the challenges to training interpreters in Ukraine according to European standards.
Throughout the conference, simultaneous interpretation from English into Ukrainian and vice versa was provided by students of the MA program “Interpreting of Two Foreign Languages”.
The Hryhorii Kochur Department of Translation Studies and Contrastive Linguistics would like to extend gratitude to everyone who participated in the celebration of this important date, as well as all those who have supported and cooperated with the department throughout its history. Over the twenty-five years of its existence, the Department has reached significant achievements and has no intention to rest on its laurels. The Department invites colleagues from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and other universities from Ukraine and abroad to cooperate for the advancement of translator and interpreter education and translation studies.