University's translation course gets recognition

The American University of Sharjah has been granted accreditation for its graduate programme in translation by the education ministry.

This decision was recently issued by Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Education.

The programme Master of Arts in English-Arabic-English Translation and Interpreting (MATI) is a unique graduation course at the College of Arts and Sciences of the university, said Salem Al Qaseer, Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs.

The ministry accreditation is recognition of the high standards of instruction employed by the programme since its inception, he said.

"We are very pleased to have received accreditation for our master's programme in translation and interpreting and would like to thank Shaikh Nahyan and the accreditation commission for this honour," said Al Qaseer.

Dr Said Faiq, director of the programme, said: "It is a great achievement for all the faculty and staff involved in this programme."

He said the accreditation recognised the staff's hard work and commitment to excellence.

"Our aim is to equip graduates from various disciplines with highly specialised translation and interpreting skills in English and Arabic as well as to upgrade the skills of professionals who are already working as translators and interpreters," he said.

First introduced by Dr Basil Hatim in 1999, MATI enables students to achieve a high level of competence in translating English from Arabic and vice versa.

It also provides them with advanced training in interpretation techniques.