The British Academy Early Career Researcher Network brings together ECRs across the humanities and social sciences disciplines, regardless of their funding source or background.

Event Location

This event is hybrid, taking place both in person at in Room SR112 in the Scott Russell Building, Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh Campus, EH14 4AS, and on Zoom. Click here for a Heriot-Watt Campus Map

Join us for an insightful workshop exploring the impact of language technologies, including machine translation (MT) and AI applications, in academic settings beyond language and translation programmes. Delve into the growing trend of technology utilisation, its implications, and contribute to shaping future research in this domain.

This workshop is organised by Dr Khadidja Merakchi, Heriot-Watt university and Dr Xihui Chen, University of Keele as part of a research project to collect views form different stakeholders about the current use of language technologies in academic settings. 

Get your tickets now and be part of shaping the future of language technologies in education!

Keynote Talks:

Hannah Riley, Head of Recovery, Management and Planning, European Economic and Social Committee

Hannah Riley is a member of the International Annual Meeting on Computer-Assisted Translation and Terminology committee, a task force that provides its participants with a forum for debate, exchange of expertise and cooperation in the fields of computer-assisted terminology and translation, interpretation and documentation retrieval. She has been Head of Translation Strategy at the Directorate of Translation at the European Economic and Social Committee from 2013 to 2021, and Head of the Recovery, management and planning since 2021.

Hannah's keynote will explore innovative language technologies and their impact on education.

Prof Ruslan Mitkov, Professor of Computing and Communications, Lancaster University

Ruslan Mitkov is a distinguished professor of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University, and a prolific researcher with over 300 publications and 30 PhD supervisions. He designed and continues to lead on the Erasmus Mundus Master’s Programme in Technology for Translation and Interpreting (EM TTI), a unique and innovative programme focused on the global translation and language industry. Prof Mitkov is passionate about using Natural Language Processing (NLP) for the benefit of society and more particularly, NLP for language disorders. He is Chair/Programme Chair of a number of international conferences on Natural Language Processing and Translation Technology such as New Trends in Translation and Technology (NeTTT) and Human-Informed Translation and Interpreting Technology (HiT-IT). Prof Mitkov was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa three time in recognition of his outstanding professional and research achievements.

Ruslan's keynote will assesses the opportunities and risk mitigation for the use of language technologies.

Dr Hua Zhao, Early Career researcher in Computer Science

Hua Zhao is an early career researcher in the field of Computer Science with an emerging record of publications, and a passion for leveraging technology to address societal challenges. She has recently completed her PhD at Heriot-Watt university in 2021. Her research focuses on building robust machine learning and data science models to address pressing social issues. Hua is an advocate of education and volunteers as a math teacher at a UN refugee school.

Hua's keynote will discuss the ethical considerations of AI use in academic settings.

Group Discussions:

• Stakeholders engage in subject-specific groups to discuss technology's impact.
• Share experiences, identify risks, and formulate recommendations in mixed groups.

Event Programme

9:30 - 10:00 Welcome and Introduction 

10:00 - 10:50 Keynote: Hannah Riley, Innovative language technologies: What are they and how are they impacting the translation services?

10:50 - 11:00 Break

11:00 - 11:45 Group discussion (Xihui Chen as online moderator, Hannah Riley as in person moderator).

Stakeholders will be grouped into small groups according to their profile (teachers, learners, businesses) to discuss the impact of technologies on education from their perspectives. Each group will be asked to present the key points of the discussion with audience (use flipcharts, whiteboards, etc. to capture thoughts)

For online participants, this will be conducted in Zoom breakout rooms.

11:45 - 12:15 Presentation of group discussion 

12:15 - 13:15 Lunch break and informal networking 

13:15 - 14:05 Keynote: Prof Ruslan Mitkov (Lancaster University), The impact of new language technologies on education: Harnessing opportunities and mitigating the risks of the new language technologies.

14:05 - 14:40 Group discussion (Hannah Riley as online moderator, Khadidja Merakchi as in person moderator).

Stakeholders will be grouped into mixed groups to share experiences about the risks identified and come up with recommendations to mitigate the risks.

For online participants, this will be conducted in Zoom breakout rooms.

14:40 - 15:10 Keynote: Dr Hua Zhao, The use of translation technologies for translation purposes: Ethical considerations.

15:10-15:40 All groups to finalise their discussions and present their key discussion points.

15:40-16:00 Coffee break

16:00-16:30 Recommendations and Concluding Remarks: Report to be sent to participants after the workshop.

16:30-17:30 Networking Event (tea, coffee, cakes) for in person participants.

Thank you for your interest. We understand that plans may change. If you sign up and can no longer attend let us know by emailing ecr_network@thebritishacademy.ac.uk and your ticket can be offered to someone else

The Network can reimburse travel expenses for ECRs to attend this event if required. For more details please consult our travel and expenses procedure form on the Resources section of the Online Community Platform, or email ecr_network@thebritishacademy.ac.uk.

ABOUT THE BRITISH ACADEMY

The British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. We mobilise these disciplines to understand the world and shape a brighter future.

From artificial intelligence to climate change, from building prosperity to improving well-being – today’s complex challenges can only be resolved by deepening our insight into people, cultures and societies.

We invest in researchers and projects across the UK and overseas, engage the public with fresh thinking and debates, and bring together scholars, government, business and civil society to influence policy for the benefit of everyone.

Booking form privacy notice: The personal data you provide to us on the event booking form is being collected so that we can administer the event efficiently, contact you with important updates about the event (where required), ensure that your accessibility requirements are accommodated, notify event partners or individuals shaping the event about the event guest list (N.B. only your name and job title/organisation will be shared with relevant partners and individuals. Your contact details will never be shared, unless by prior consent) and to pass on an evaluation survey after the event. It will only be used by the British Academy for this purpose. This privacy information does not apply to the processing of your personal data by Zoom which will be governed by Zoom’s terms and conditions. If you choose to donate to the British Academy, your personal data will be used for the purpose of administering your donation, both by the British Academy and the financial services company Stripe, who will process your card payment. This privacy information does not apply to the processing of your personal data by Stripe which will be governed by the terms outlined in their privacy policy. If you have any questions or concerns about how we use your personal data, please contact the British Academy’s Data Protection Officer at dpo@thebritishacademy.ac.uk.