Building partnerships and sharing ideas with ITI Academy Connect
ITI is launching the ITI Academy Connect Scheme to build a stronger, more joined-up relationship between the translation and interpreting profession and the UK’s university sector. The scheme brings together ITI and higher education institutions to share knowledge, support students and career changers as they move into professional practice, and connect academic research more directly to the needs of practitioners.
What the scheme involves
ITI Academy Connect is structured around four areas of activity, each led by a dedicated working group.
The first element is CPD. A new series of CPD talks combining academic and industry perspectives on topics that matter to practitioners will be open to all ITI members. By pooling resources across institutions, the series aims to improve the quality and range of CPD available while reducing the burden on individual universities.
The second initiative will be a summer school, designed to help students, recent graduates and career changers make the transition into professional practice. The summer school will be a collaborative effort, with the potential for the host institution to rotate among participating universities.
The third aspect is a joint outreach programme, developed in partnership with ITI’s geographical networks, aimed at raising awareness of languages and the translation and interpreting professions among secondary and higher education students. All activities will be run under the ITI umbrella so that data can be collected and impact demonstrated.
Finally, a research workstream will look at ways to connect academic research more effectively with professional practice. This includes creating better routes for academics to share their work with ITI members, supporting joint research projects and making research findings more accessible through our communications channels.
Dr JC Penet (Newcastle University) who is leading the initiative and is a member of our Board commented:
ITI Academy Connect is an exciting new scheme that aims to bring the profession and academia into the same conversation more consistently and perhaps more meaningfully. There’s such a wealth of expertise on both sides! This new scheme gives us a way to share this expertise more effectively as we work together to enhance CPD, research, outreach and support for people joining the profession with a summer school. My hope is that, by acting as a community of practice, ITI Academy Connects helps translators, interpreters and academics at all stages of their career feel more connected to each other, ultimately paving the way for a stronger, more collaborative future for all of us across the UK.
What happens next
The scheme was shaped by scoping meetings with university representatives, ITI staff and board members held in July and August 2025. Working groups are now established and a pilot programme of events is planned for the 2026–27 academic year, with a fuller programme to follow.
For members, this means access to a richer CPD programme, better support for early-career practitioners, and research that speaks directly to the realities of professional practice. At a time when language departments across the UK are under pressure, it is also an opportunity to make a clear, collective case for translation and interpreting as a rewarding career.
