Following our commitment to translating our research outputs into training solutions to tangible professional challenges,
we realised the need for an advanced technological infrastructure that could help us make our training more organised and systematic.
This is how it all began…
Bianca Prandi
Interpreting technology specialist
Bianca is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer in Interpreting Studies at the University of Innsbruck. She holds a PhD in Translation Studies from the University of Mainz/Germersheim, where she has been researching Computer-Assisted Interpreting (CAI) from a pedagogical and a cognitive standpoint after graduated summa cum laude in Interpreting (MA) from the University of Bologna/Forlì in 2015.
Her research projects include:
– Reception and integration of CAI tools into the interpreting curriculum;
– Pilot study on CAI tools’ in-process use from a cognitive and product-oriented standpoint;
– Survey on the current stand of CAI inclusion in interpreter training;
– Development and validation of a process-oriented research methodology for a cognitive investigation of CAI tools with manual look-up and integrated ASR;
– Initial exploration of communication-oriented evaluation of machine interpreting (with Claudio Fantinuoli).
Bianca is a guest instructor in the Certificate Course Interpreting with new media at the Postgraduate Center of the University of Vienna and an official trainer for the CAI tool InterpretBank.
Her working languages are Italian, English and German. She is a member of the German association of Conference Interpreters (VKD).
Francesca Maria Frittella
Numbers and instructional design expert
Francesca graduated in Conference Interpreting (MA) from the Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz/Germersheim and was awarded as the best graduate in 2018-19.
Since 2020, she is pursuing a PhD degree at Shanghai International Studies University. Her working languages are Italian A, German B, English B and Chinese C. As a conference interpreter, she works with clients across Europe and China.
Her research projects include:
– Causes of error in the SI of numbers, leading to the publication of a book in 2017;
– Development and evaluation of the first comprehensive training module on the SI of numbers, completed in 2018;
– The first usability test of an AI-powered CAI tool (SmarTerp), completed Aug 2021;
– Design and development of the first self-paced eLearning training module on an AI-powered RSI platform (SmarTerp), expected completion Dec 2021;
– Identification of conference interpreter’s requirements for an AI-powered RSI platform (SmarTerp), expected completion Dec 2021.