Each year The Translation People presents two students from Aston University with special awards in recognition of their achievements in the field of translation studies: the Achievement in Translation award is given to a Bachelor of Arts student whilst the Excellence in Translation award is given to a Master of Arts student.

In July of this year BA student Brett Nealon was awarded the Achievement in Translation award after completing a BA translation degree in Spanish and English. Following Brett’s graduation ceremony, he was presented with the award by Jasmin Schneider, Operations Manager of The Translation People’s Birmingham office.

As part of the award, Brett was given the opportunity to carry out some translation work for The Translation People, to the value of £200. This part of the award provides graduates with the opportunity to gain valuable experience working as a translator in the professional world.

The Translation People has been presenting students from Aston University with these awards since 2005. The company also involves itself with the university by giving talks to translation studies students about working in the translation profession, covering issues such as how to go about starting a career as a translator. The Translation People sees its cooperation and links with Aston University as a way of promoting the translation profession and encouraging future translators as they embark on their careers.

Aston University offers several undergraduate and postgraduate translation programmes to students, and is one of only five universities in the UK to be part of the European Masters in Translation Network, a network set up by the European Commission which aims to “help raise the standard of translator training in the EU and foster cooperation and exchanges between higher-education institutions offering translation courses”. (https://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/programmes/emt/index_en.htm).