Department of Translation and Interpreting
For 30 years, the Department of Translation and Interpreting has had an outstanding track record in translation and interpreting. The degree program in Translation and Interpretation trains translators and interpreters in Turkish, English and French. It is dedicated to providing students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the evolving and challenging field of translation and interpretation.
Bilkent TRIN at the 9th PSIT Conference
Two faculty members from our department, Duygu Çurum Duman and Zeynep Şengel, recently presented their research at the prestigious 9th International Conference on Public Service Interpreting and Translation (PSIT), held in March 2026 at the University of Alcalá in Madrid, Spain.
Duygu Çurum Duman delivered her presentation, “Workflow of Public Service Interpreting in the AI Era: Insights from Healthcare Services in Turkey,” focusing on the impact of emerging technologies on interpreting workflows in healthcare settings. Zeynep Şengel presented her paper, “More than Words: Towards Accessible Communication for Refugees,” which addressed inclusive communication practices and the importance of accessibility in supporting refugee communities.
Graduate Program Represented at EU SCIC Enlargement Event
Zeynep Şengel, course coordinator of the Graduate Program in Conference Interpreting, participated in the Awareness-Raising Event on Enlargement organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Interpretation (SCIC), held in Brussels, Belgium, on 16–17 March 2026.
The event brought together representatives from enlargement countries to exchange information on the current state of translation and interpreting training. Participants shared best practices and discussed emerging approaches in interpreter education, with a focus on strengthening capacity and fostering collaboration across institutions.
Announcements
TRIN 390 – Summer Practice: Mandatory internship applications (Summer Practice) have started, and the deadline to apply via STS is July 10, 2026 (17:30). The final date by which the internship must be completed is September 14, 2026.
For more information, please click here.
Duygu Çurum Duman and Alper Kumcu (Hacettepe University) have made the pre-print of their article, “Disentangling Cognitive and Emotional Load in Interpreting: Multimodal Evidence from Physiological and Prosodic Data,” available here.
TRIN4Access Seminars: Media Accessibility by Ece Naz Batmaz
Ece Naz Batmaz, a highly experienced audiovisual translator, editor, and quality controller, kindly participated in our audiovisual translation senior class. She has worked as a freelancer with major streaming platforms such as Netflix and is currently working at Tabii, TRT’s digital platform.
During her session, she shared valuable information on media accessibility, offering both theoretical and practical perspectives on industry workflows, with a particular focus on subtitling for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH) and audio description.
“Possible Worlds” Conference Brings Together Tales, Mythology and Art
Bilkent University hosted the third annual “Possible Worlds: Storytelling, Mythology and Art Conference” on February 21–22, bringing together academics, writers, and creators to explore myth as a tool for reimagining reality.
Organised by the Historical Society, Literature Society, Science Fiction and Fantasy Society, Storytelling and Mythology Society and Translation Society, with the support of Oğuz Tansel Centre for Turkish Literature (OTTEM), the Department of History and the Department of Translation and Interpreting, the two-day event examined how mythology and narrative shape cultural, intellectual and artistic production.
TRIN Chair Duygu Duman delivered the opening address. TRIN students Alp Mete Üstün, Ece Cumik and Yusuf Dökmeci contributed significantly to the organisation of the event.
Beyond CTRL+C: Transcreation and Technology
The panel “Beyond CTRL+C: Transcreation and Technology,” organised by the Department of English, French Translation and Interpreting (TRIN), brought together translators, academics and publishing professionals to examine the future of the translation profession, the role of creativity and the rising influence of new technologies.
Ebru Erbaş advocated for the use of digital tools alongside the protection of human translation quality and visibility. At the same time, Kadir Yiğit Us outlined technologies such as machine translation and large language models, noting their practical benefits but creative limitations. Sefa Emre İlikli warned that data-driven systems may reduce cultural nuance, and Bahadırhan Bozkurt emphasised the artistic nature of translation, arguing that automation can disrupt the creative process.
Overall, discussions focused on the interplay of technology, creativity, and cultural knowledge, concluding that the future of translation will depend less on technology itself than on how human labour is organised.
Publications from TRIN
Asena Çağığan’s book “Yirminci Yüzyıl Fransa-Belçika Çizgi Romanında Kadın İmgesi” (The Representation of Women in 20th-Century French-Belgian Comics)) explores the representation of women in 20th-century French and Belgian graphic novels. The volume offers a critical perspective on gender, culture, and visual storytelling within the francophone comic tradition.
Our instructor, Dr. Eyüp Özgür Özen, had his article titled “Étude des personnages dans deux pièces de Samuel Beckett” published in the March 2026 issue (No. 48) of Frankofoni. To access the article, click here.
22nd Historical Materialism Conference
London
TRIN Assistant Professor Zachary Murphy King presented his research in London at SOAS University of London for the 22nd annual Historical Materialism conference. Prof. King’s paper develops work on his current book manuscript, connecting Soviet and contemporary debates over literature and society.
2nd National Translation Studies Congress
Ankara
TRIN took part in the II. National Translation Studies Congress, held on 23–24 October at Atılım University’s İncek Campus. Our department was represented through three significant research presentations: Büşra Kurt and Zeynep Şengel presented their study on conference interpreters’ perceptions of technological developments. Safiye Bal Kuzucu shared her research on ergonomics and remote simultaneous interpreting. Duygu Duman presented her work titled “A Hermeneutic Approach to Staged Translation: The Case of the Broadway Musical Jekyll & Hyde.”
For more news, please click here.
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Esmaeil Kalantari, our department’s new assistant professor! Dr. Kalantari holds a Ph.D. in Translation Studies from Université de Montréal. His research primarily focuses on journalistic translation and its role in shaping public opinion. He has authored and co-authored articles in journals such as Meta: Translators’ Journal, Journalism, and Canadian Political Science Review. In addition to his research, he teaches courses such as Language of Journalism and Capstone Project. Before joining Bilkent University in 2025, Dr. Kalantari served as a lecturer and research assistant at Université de Montréal and Université TÉLUQ.