Join us in celebrating 40 years of professional translation and interpreting as we look to the future of our profession. This two-day conference brings together practitioners, academics, and language service providers to address the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing translators and interpreters today.
The conference offers practical, actionable sessions designed to help you build a more resilient and successful practice. Whether you're a freelancer adapting to changing market conditions, an agency leader navigating new technologies, or a professional seeking to deepen your ethical practice, you'll find content that speaks directly to your needs.
With three core strands running throughout the event, you'll have the opportunity to engage with topics that matter most to you, connect with colleagues facing similar challenges, and leave with concrete strategies you can implement immediately.
Introducing our speakers and panellists
Joachim Lépine
Joachim Lépine, M. Ed., C. Tr. is a trainer and translator with more than 10 years of experience teaching translation and related topics to university students and working professionals. Some of his training clients have included OTTIAQ, Editors Canada, Magistrad, the Translation Bureau, and Training for Translators.
He is also the founder of the Regroupement des langagiers de l’Estrie and the owner Traductions LION, which offers French-to-English translation services as well as language, productivity, and communication workshops. He was Coordinator of the Continuing Education Committee for OTTIAQ, Canada’s largest organisation of language professionals, from 2013 to 2020.
Joachim holds a bachelor’s in fine arts from Concordia University, a bachelor’s in translation from Université de Sherbrooke, and a master’s in education from Plymouth State University.
Christophe Fricker
Christophe Fricker has a decade of experience as executive of a research and consultancy firm, and has been teaching at leading universities in the UK and North America for more than twenty years. At the University of Bristol, he serves as Director of the MA in Translation.
Christophe is anaward-winning translator, author and editor of thirty books. He engages regularly with diverse audiences as an event speaker and media contributor in both Britain and Germany. Christophe holds a doctorate in German literature from Oxford University. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
- Website:
- www.christophe-fricker.com
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/christophe-fricker/
Andy Benzo
Andy Benzo is an international legal translator, lawyer, and speaker with over 35 years of experience inEnglish–Spanish translation. She holds degrees in Law and Translation from Argentina and is an ATA-certified translator and current President of the American Translators Association (ATA).
A recognized leader in the profession, she has chaired key ATA committees and contributes to language standardsthrough ASTM and ISO. Andy writes and speaks globally on AI, ethics, language, and law. Through her work, she advances responsible, human-centered communication. Her expertise lies in legal translation, terminology, and the intersection of language, technology, and professional practice.
- Website:
- www.atanet.org/
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/andybenzo/
Fiona Gray MITI
Fiona Gray MITI works from German to English and specialises in creative, marketing and tourism translation. She started her freelance business, Grayscale Translations Limited, in 2016 and has ten years of experience in the translation industry. Fiona is a passionate member of ITI, who was recently elected to the Board of Directors. She took on the role of Coordinator for the ITI East Anglia Regional Group in 2020, joined the ITI Membership Committee in 2021 and spoke about how to manage a blended client base at the ITI Conference in Brighton in May 2022. She has just launched her own Business Buddy Mentoring scheme for creative German to English translation with the aim of helping newcomers to the profession kickstart their career by providing feedback, support and guidance. Over the past six years, Fiona has managed to build and maintain a corporate and personal brand that is memorable and consistent across all of her marketing measures.
Jennifer Vela-Valido
Jennifer is a Localisation Strategist with more than a decade of experience in Localisation Program Management and end-to-end language quality solutions. She currently serves as Localisation Quality & Innovation Program Manager at Spotify, where she leads multilingual AI evaluation, Iquality frameworks, and global-scale localisation initiatives.
Jennifer holds a PhD in Localisation Quality Management and is an active researcher and speaker focused on localisation strategy, linguistic quality governance, and applied AI evaluation methods. A long-standing advocate for ethical and effective technology in language services, she has presented at GALA, TAUS, and LocWorld, and serves as Program Director for WeShape AI at Women in Localisation.
- Website:
- www.spotify.com
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/jennifervela/
Dr Sonia Koller
Dr Sonia Koller is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship/Innovation at King’s Business School (King’s College London). Sonia teaches and researches the Psychology of Entrepreneurship, with a focus on understanding the cognitive processes, emotions and affect that drive the creation of new ventures, as well as entrepreneurs’ well-being. Her research sits at the intersection between the cognitive sciences, psychology, and entrepreneurship. Sonia’s research has attracted funding from the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Fund. She has previously helped companies such as HireVue, RedBull, and UCL develop innovative,technology-based psychometric assessments to assess human potential.
- Website:
- www.kcl.ac.uk/people/sonia-koller
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/sonia-koller-34528690/
Teemu Purmonen
Teemu Purmonen is a co-founder, entrepreneur, and Chair of the Board of Youpret Oy, the first BCorp certified language service company in the Nordics, specialising in public interpreting and translation services as well as language technology. Through its extensive interpreter network and proprietary technology, Youpret helps more than a thousand people every day to access essential public services smoothly. The company has succeeded in lowering the threshold to employment and making it easier to hire workers with an immigrant background. Youpret has also been listed on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 list in Finland for two consecutive years.
- Website:
- www.youpret.com
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/teemupurmonen/
Dr JC Penet
I am a Reader in Translation Industry Studies and the author of Working as a Professional Translator (London: Routledge, 2024). I am also a practising Level 7 Personal and Executive Coach (PG Dip, University of Warwick). My research explores how artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are reshaping the translation industry, especially in terms of freelance translators' perceptions of their work and their well-being (see the 'Research' tab for more). This directly informs my work on how translator education and professional development must evolve to prepare practitioners for the demands of an ever-changing industry. By promoting more sustainable and psychologically informed approaches to both training and professional practice, my research aims to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals concerning decent work and mental well-being (SDGs 3 and 8).
Jo Durning
Jo Durning chairs ITI's Professional Development Committee and her role on the Advisory Group is to ensure that the conference works with the grain of ITI's development offer to its members and others. She has worked as a translator for 13 years, specialising in legal and social science texts. She draws on a long career in the UK civil service, working in Whitehall, Paris and Brussels.
David Orrego-Carmona
David Orrego-Carmona is a Reader in Translation Studies at the University of Warwick, where he leads the MA in Translation and Cultures. His research focuses on translation technology, audiovisual translation and user experience. He brings an academic perspective on how universities can support the profession in navigating technological change.
Lena Marg
Lena Marg specialised for over 20 years in the deployment, evaluation and post-editing of machine translation for the localisation industry, supporting medium to Enterprise companies in their use of language AI. She is passionate about encouraging exchange between different stakeholders and mindsets - translators, engineers, research and implementation. Lena is joining the ITI Board as an affiliate member in May 2026.
Dr Samuel Läubli
Sam Läubli graduated with an MSc in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh and a PhD in Computational Linguistics from the University of Zurich, with a dissertation titled Machine Translation for Professional Translators. Following tenures at US tech companies Autodesk and Lilt, he co-founded Textshuttle, an AI translation company focused on data security. Sam currently leads a team of 100 Language AI experts in Zurich and Berlin as the CEO of Supertext.
- Website:
- supertext.com/
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/laeubli/
David Stockings MITI
David has been a full-time freelance French and German to English translator since completing his MA in Specialised Translation in 2019. His background is in accounting and finance, but he now specialises in various areas of sustainability.
Within ITI, he is the Deputy Coordinator of the ITI EastAnglia Network and sits on the ITI Membership Committee. He also teaches on the master's programmes offered at UCL’s Centre for Translation Studies and produces a podcast for new and prospective translators called Source 2 Target.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Website:
- www.bwtranslation.co.uk/
- LinkedIn:
- https://linkedin.com/in/dstockings/
Debbie Lewis
As a Community Manager for NatWest’s Accelerator team, Debbie is responsible for building and nurturing strategic relationships and regional stakeholder engagement opportunities to support SMEs to start, scale and exit their business.
An entrepreneur herself, she successfully scaled and exited a chain of hair and beauty salons (plus a salon industry recruitment company and social media education agency) over 17 years, before starting a career in coaching and mentoring.
Entrepreneurship
For the majority of ITI members working as freelancers, building a sustainable business has become increasingly challenging. Traditional agency relationships have changed dramatically, and many practitioners find themselves needing entrepreneurial skills they were never taught.
This strand offers practical, achievable strategies for building a more resilient freelance practice. Sessions focus on concrete business development tactics including marketing, networking, and using professional platforms like LinkedIn effectively. You'll learn accessible approaches to finding direct clients, understanding who your ideal clients are, and diversifying your client base to reduce dependency on a small number of agencies.
The content is designed to be immediately actionable - not overwhelming "transform your entire business" advice, but realistic steps you can take the day after the conference. Through small-group discussions with experienced practitioners and interactive formats like carousel tables, you'll have the opportunity to ask questions in a comfortable, supportive environment and connect with colleagues who understand the challenges of building a freelance practice in today's market.
Engaging with clients
In a rapidly evolving profession, understanding client expectations and managing professional risk has never been more important. This strand addresses the practical challenges of maintaining professional standards whilst responding to client demands around new technologies and pricing pressures.
Through panel discussions and interactive sessions, you'll explore how to educate clients about the proper use of AI tools, manage the risk of the profession shifting primarily to post-editing work, and respond to client expectations around cost reductions. Language service providers will share case studies and practical approaches to maintaining value whilst adapting to change.
The sessions also address broader professionalism topics, helping you articulate your value proposition and set appropriate pricing for professional work. You'll gain insights into client perspectives and learn strategies for building stronger, more sustainable client relationships that recognise the full value of professional translation and interpreting services.
Ethical practices
Our profession's commitment to ethical practice extends far beyond codes of conduct. This strand offers two highly interactive sessions designed to inspire, challenge, and connect you with others who care deeply about working responsibly.
The strand opens with a Good Practice Showcase, where you'll join small-group conversations with invited guests who exemplify ethical excellence in our community. From translators building sustainable careers to agencies that prioritise translator well-being and responsible business practices, these discussions offer a chance to engage directly with people who are putting ethics into action. The small-group format encourages meaningful dialogue, honest questions, and practical insights into what ethical practice looks like in today's working environment.
The second session takes the form of a Learning Café, continuing the small-group approach but shifting the focus to shared reflection and problem-solving. Guided by experienced facilitators, each table will explore a set of prompts and real-world ethical dilemmas facing our profession in 2026 - including pressing questions such as how to integrate AI tools in ways that are ethical, sustainable, and human-centred. Designed as a safe, inclusive space, this session ensures every voice can be heard. You'll leave not only with fresh perspectives and ideas, but also with new connections and conversations that extend well beyond the conference itself.
We have also put together an outline programme that shows the intended running order and timings.