Founded in 1970, the Department of Languages & Intercultural Studies specialises in the fields of translation and interpreting studies, as well as (inter)cultural studies such as living cultural heritage, language policy and intercultural communication. The Department is one of only four UK university departments that have been granted membership of CIUTI, an international body which brings together universities which specialise in translating and interpreter training. It is also has the only programme in Scotland, and one of only 2 in the UK, that allows BSL graduates to register as fully qualified interpreters with the NRCPD or SASLI (subject to conditions). The Department also includes two research centres that reflect our specialisations: the Centre for Translation and Interpreting Studies in Scotland (CTISS) and the Intercultural Research Centre. Our core purpose is two-fold:
1) To create multilingual, multicultural, global, citizens
2) To engage in high quality, internationally recognised research and teaching that sustains a challenging and rewarding learning experience for all our students and contributes to our impact with local, national and international organisations and communities. Our Mission
Our mission is to continue to focus on our established and distinctive strengths of translation and interpretation, as well as building the emerging areas of living cultural heritage and language policy. Our Vision
Our vision is to be recognised as a dynamic and distinctive Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies, renowned internationally for its multi-disciplinary education, research and knowledge exchange. Our Departmental strategy reflects Heriot-Watt and SoSS’s overarching aims of internationalisation, research intensification and teaching excellence. LINCS has over 500 students studying in our various UG and PG taught programmes, with students from over 15 different countries. Our composition affords us the unique opportunity to deliver inter-disciplinary research publications, research funding and impact. We offer outstanding education informed both by our research expertise and our distinctive scholarship. As a result we are regarded as providers of high-standard language professionals and experts in culture and communication. Among our students, we seek to develop the knowledge and skills that will enable them to live and work in an increasingly multilingual and multicultural society. Our students will develop graduate attributes as reflective citizens that are critical thinkers, problem-solvers, open-minded and committed to professional development. Our programmes are based upon research-led teaching that systematically develop students’ interest in, and understanding of, language and intercultural communication, equipping them with the skills necessary for graduate employability and life-long learning. We celebrate the international character of the Department and the opportunities this offers for enriching the student experience. We strive to develop effective working relationships with our collaborative partners nationally and internationally and recognise them and their students as members of our Department. We commit to undertaking research that is significant, having an impact on a multilingual, multicultural society. We seek to understand the society we live in, how people interact and communicate, and the interactions between people, resources, heritage, language and culture. In our community engagement, we seek to develop sustainable relationships that promote knowledge exchange, enabling our stakeholders to participate effectively in our teaching and research. We recognise the importance of continuing life-long learning and seek to develop effective mechanisms to promote this by offering Continuing Professional Development opportunities in collaboration with key stakeholders. Our Values
LINCS embeds the core Heriot-Watt University values in all its activities:
� Pursuing excellence
� Shaping the future
� Outward looking
� Pride and belonging
� Valuing and respecting everyone
Teaching
We have a long history of providing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes that focus on the applied nature and professional use of language and communication skills, with a particular focus on interpreting and translating. Across both our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes the portfolio of languages include Arabic, British Sign Language (BSL), Chinese (Mandarin), English for Academic Purposes, French, German, and Spanish. We were ranked 1st in Scotland for our languages teaching by the National Student Survey 2015. The Department also now offers courses and programmes in Cultural Studies which is a growing area of the Department's work. Research
Research focuses on our established and distinctive strengths of translation and interpretation, as well as building the emerging areas of living cultural heritage and language policy. Our research is structured into these four areas, which are supported by our two research centres:
Centre for Translation and Interpreting Studies in Scotland (CTISS)
Intercultural Research Centre (IRC)
Facilities
In 2012 we invested over £700,000 to refurbish and develop our language learning and interpreting facilities for its students, modelling them on those used in the European Parliament.Our state-of-the-art facilities include:
four fully-equipped interpreting teaching labs
two language laboratories
self-study laboratorycomputer labs audio-visual teaching equipment
facilities for closed-circuit television
satellite broadcasting reception
recording studio
A special collection of monolingual and multilingual dictionaries, covering a wide range of specialised subjects, is located in the Dictionaries Room in the University Library.
