AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award in Translation Studies:
Humans in the Loop
The Centre for Translation and Intercultural
Studies, supported by the North-West Consortium Doctoral Training
Partnership (NWCDTP), invites applications from exceptional candidates
for a fully funded collaborative PhD studentship, to
start in September 2020 at the University of Manchester, UK.
The Humans in the Loop project will
investigate the impact of the quality of source texts on the work of
post-editors or translators, in collaboration with our partner,
TranslateMedia. Specialising in the translation of advertising
and marketing materials, TranslateMedia is implementing post-editing of
machine translation as part of its professional translation workflow.
This research will examine TranslateMedia’s encounters with poorly
written and non-canonical source texts, to understand
how specific features of source texts can affect the quality of MT
output, post-editing practices and translator productivity. The basic
parameters of the research are set but specific details will be decided
jointly by the student, supervisor and partner.
TranslateMedia will provide access to a range of datasets, resources
and personnel. This research will make a valuable contribution to our
understanding of the conditions in which professional translation takes
place and the changing nature of translation
practice as MT technology is further integrated into workflows.
The successful candidate will join a dynamic
community of doctoral researchers at a world-leading translation studies
research centre. They will benefit from expert supervision, a wide
range of research training opportunities, and access
to additional funds for fieldwork, research expenses, conferences, etc.
Qualifications
Applicants should have:
- A First Class Honours degree (or equivalent) and a Masters level qualification with Distinction (completed or in progress), in translation studies or a cognate discipline
- Native or near-native competence in English and at least one of the following languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch
- Prior experience of using translation technologies
- Some prior professional experience in language services (desirable).
Funding and eligibility
A full award comprises the UK/EU tuition fee and a
maintenance stipend of approximately £15,000 per year, for 3.5 years of
full-time study.
Candidates must have a relevant connection with
the UK to qualify for a full AHRC award, i.e. they must have been
ordinarily resident in the UK throughout the three-year period preceding
the date of application, or have settled status
in the UK. Non-EU candidates who have not been ordinarily resident in
the UK for the last three years, or who were resident wholly or mainly
for the purposes of education, are not eligible to apply.
Candidates from EU countries are eligible for
full awards if they have been resident in the UK, for education or other
purposes, for at least three years prior to the start of their
programme. Candidates from EU countries who have not
resided in the UK for three years prior to the start of their programme
will normally be eligible for a fees-only award.
Applications
Please submit a CV, undergraduate and Masters degree transcripts, and a 1,500-word PhD proposal related to the research topic to
maeve.olohan@manchester.ac.uk by 17:00 GMT on
Monday 17 February 2020. Interviews will take place at the end of February and the successful candidate’s nomination will be confirmed by 13 March.
The successful candidate will then be required to
submit an online application for a place on the PhD in Translation and
Intercultural Studies programme by 31 March, with the support of the
supervisors – see
http://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/applying/
for details.
Contact for further information
Dr Maeve Olohan,
maeve.olohan [at] manchester.ac.uk.
This announcement can also be accessed at https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BXZ169/phd-studentship-ahrc-collaborative-doctoral-award-in-translation-studies-humans-in-the-loop
