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Project for Master's Program in Translation in three Languages: Arabic, English and French Submitted to TEMPUS

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Project for Master's Program in Translation in three Languages: Arabic, English and French Submitted to TEMPUS

Quantity of projects: 0

Main field of activities of our university: Translation has witnessed an unprecedented growth in the past ten years for many reasons. One being the expansion in the global market in the field of translation, which is estimated at more than $ 20 billion a year that barely, meets part of the demand for translation due to the growing global economy.

Many of the businesses of the companies and corporations are on a global scale, which means that international organizations, governmental and non-governmental organizations need to translate into and from many languages. Computerized tools that help to meet these demands became stronger and increasingly sophisticated.

At the same time, academic programs that deal with translation have flourished, producing a wide range of theoretical perspectives in the new complexities of the translation process. This led to considerable interest in translation among institutions, companies and individuals, each according to the needs in terms of the target or service required.

The Department of French in collaboration with the Department of languages and translation and the Department of Arabic language and literature at Birzeit University are planning to launch a master's program in translation in three languages: Arabic, English and French. The project is to be submitted to the Tempus program in the framework of regional projects. This means that Birzeit University will get into partnership with a Palestinian university, two other universities in the Arab World and three universities in three different European countries. Birzeit University will be responsible for the management of the project, the other universities can participate in developing courses that already exist in their programs or develop the infrastructure of teaching and training they already have.

Information about the intended TEMPUS projects:

Importance of the project
This project aims to achieve several objectives that capitalize on the development of skills and knowledge acquired at the bachelor's level of the target groups. Furthermore, translation requires technical skills and knowledge that a BA holder cannot do without. It has also become imperative to pursue scientific training and professional capacity building in accordance with the developments in the labor market in a framework that allows the individual to obtain locally high qualifications in light of international competitiveness on the one hand and the high cost of obtaining such qualifications abroad, on the other.

It has been observed in recent years, that undergraduate students join language departments with the basic desire to practice the profession of translation, but these departments do not prepare their students for this profession and do not furnish them with the skills required that may enable them enter the local and global markets.

There are two Master translation programs in Palestine: one in translation and interpretation at Al-Quds University/Abu Dis and the other in applied linguistics and translation at An-Najah University. Both programs are in English- Arabic translation; however, they are not sufficient to meet the growing need for translation.

Given the increasing number of undergraduate programs in the French language in addition to those existing in the English language, there is a need to provide a master's program in more than two languages ( English-Arabic-French).

Meeting that urgent need requires the existence of a Master’s program in translation that takes into account the technological developments in this field as well as using more than one language, which is not available in the already existing programs. This program would be similar to existing ones in Europe and the world, especially those that have more than one language and which use computerized technology in the translation process.

Goals
* Create a master's program in translation from Arabic into English and/or French and vice versa.
* Develop the master's programs in partner universities: Al-Quds University/ Abu Dis, and two universities in Arab countries.

Specific Objectives
Developing a Master’s degree in translation from an educational perspective that takes into consideration Arabic, French and English would be of benefit to the institution on the one hand, and to the learner on the other. This is achieved through preparing the learner according to instructional strategies that ensure effective learning based on international standards. For the project to be consistent with this vision, it is expected that by the end of the project the program will be able to:
1. Train qualified academics to train translators.
2. Train translators according to established up-to-date scientific methodology.
3. Improve the performance of translators working in the local market to a level that would enable them compete in local, regional and global markets.
4. Respond to the need of local universities by qualifying academics in the field of translation.
5. Offer a local alternative for scholarships abroad that are very scarce or unattainable in the field of translation.
6. Establish a Translating/ interpreting Laboratory (at Al-Quds University, Abu Dis).
7. Make available different programs in translation technology, such as translation memories, and provide training for teachers in these programs.
8. Qualify teachers (at Al-Quds University / Abu Dis) to obtain a license as trainers in the region.
9. Provide the necessary training to master's students to qualify them to work as technicians in the laboratory (at Al-Quds University / Abu Dis).
10. Have state of the art sources, references and periodicals.

Target Groups
The task of developing programs and building courses in a way that helps the learner obtain knowledge and develop skills is a challenge that faces the educational institutions. This project aims at providing high quality programs and syllabi that aim at improving learning and teaching in the field of translation, and thus serve many different sectors that are involved in this area, for example:
1 - Colleges and educational institutions for teaching translation locally and in the Arab world, or those interested in including translation from and into Arabic in their programs worldwide.
2 - Organizations and bodies, and all those who have a translation desk and are interested in training their translators and developing their capabilities.
3 - Translators, students and individuals interested in developing their abilities in the field of translation and obtaining a higher qualification in the field.

Requirements
The applicant to the program is to choose a second foreign language based on qualifications. Accordingly, the student either studies translation from Arabic into English and vice versa, or from Arabic into French and vice versa. The student can be accepted in the three languages if his/her level allows it. In addition the student must:
1 - Have a bachelor's degree in one of the languages: French, Arabic or English from an accredited university, and second language proficiency in one of these languages.
2 - Have a bachelor's degree in any of fields of study from an accredited university, and a minor in at least one language of the three languages offered in the program in addition to his mother tongue.

Methodology and Timelines
This project needs a working team of outstanding expertise in program design and development who are to follow it up procedurally, administratively and legally in order to provide integrated solutions that cover all aspects of the program and courses including building content assessment and evaluation, and thus, allowing successful partnership and alliance with pertinent bodies, educational institutions and training centers locally, regionally and internationally.

It is important, therefore, to present this project to Tempus program to seek support and guidance. And if accepted, the program will be implemented over three years with the assistance of experts from European universities specializing in translation who will work hand in hand with local and regional specialists to:

1 - Prepare the program proposal at Birzeit University (during the first year), and then to implement it so that teachers are trained and qualified to teach in the program after the expiration of said period.
2 –Develop the existing program at Al-Quds University / Abu Dis, through the development of the laboratory, training of technicians, and equipping the interpretation laboratory with the appropriate (software) programs.
3 - Develop programs, courses or infrastructure in the regional partner universities.

It is expected that funding of the three year project by Tempus program will be based on the following:
- First year: Work on building the program with the participation of local and European expertise.
- The second and third years:
a. Training students in local universities by foreign teachers.
b. Training local teachers abroad.
c. Exchange of students between the local universities and the regional and European ones.
d. Assisting in building the infrastructures as needed.

Budget requested: 500,000 euros.

Contact: Dr. Basma Omari Department of French Language

E-mail: bomari@birzeit.edu

Contact: Mahmoud Abdel-Fattah: Department of Languages and Translation

E-mail: mfatah@birzeit.edu