IPCITI 2013: Speaker Lineup, part I

A few weeks ago, we announced that IPCITI 2013, the International Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting would take place here, at Heriot-Watt in November. Now, we are pleased to announce the speakers, starting this week.

IPCITI has a tradition of offering workshops as part of the conference program. This year, Professor Jemina Napier, who has recently joined Heriot-Watt will be taking one of them.

Jemina is an interpreter researcher, educator and practitioner and has practised as a signed language interpreter since 1988. She grew up in the British Deaf community, and works between English and British Sign Language (BSL), Australian Sign Language (Auslan) or International Sign. After completing an MA in BSL/ English Interpreting at Durham University, Jemina moved to Australia to undertake her PhD studies in 1998. She established the first university industry-accredited training program as a Postgraduate Diploma in Auslan/ English Interpreting in the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University in Sydney in 2002, held a postdoctoral fellowship at the same university from 2004-2006, and was Head of Translation and Interpreting from 2007-2012. Jemina is a past President, and now an Honorary Life Member, of the Australian Sign Language Interpreters Association (ASLIA). She was an inaugural board member of the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI), and now serves as Co-Leader of the joint WASLI-World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) Task Force on International Sign interpreter training and recruitment. She was one of the founding members of the Australian Interpreter Trainers’ Network, and instigated the annual Interpreter Trainers’ Workshops (now known as the Interpreter Trainers’ Network Symposium). She has delivered interpreter training and assessment to interpreters worldwide, including in Brazil, China, Fiji, Ireland, Kosovo, New Zealand and the United States. Jemina was a member of the Australian industry body – the National Accreditation Authority of Translators & Interpreters (NAATI) – Qualifications and Assessment Advisory Committee and a member (previously co-chair) of the NAATI Auslan Interpreter Examiner Panel.

Jemina returned to the UK in February 2013 to take up the new position of Professor and Chair of Intercultural Communication in the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies.

IPCITI Organising Committee