Consultancy & Community Services
We are dedicated to making high-quality translation and interpreting services accessible to the community and to supporting organizations through collaborative consultancy projects.
For enquiries about community and consultancy services, please contact us at ctn@hkbu.edu.hk.
CTN provides expert consultancy tailored to the needs of industry partners, public institutions, and NGOs in translation, and related language services. With a strong foundation in research and professional practice, our consultancy covers project planning, quality assessment, training, and knowledge transfer. We work closely with clients to deliver customized solutions that support effective multilingual communication in various professional contexts.
Over the years, we have had the honour to serve many prestigious clients outside the University and have completed numerous translation projects to their satisfaction.
Some of our clients include:
- Jardine Matheson Limited
- The British Council
- University Grants Committee
- Civil Aviation Department of Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Arts Centre
- The Hong Kong Institute of Architects
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- Hong Kong Arts Development Council
- Radio Television Hong Kong
- Legislative Councillors
- The Hong Kong Institute of Education
- La Leche League International (HK)
- Healthwise
- Ketchum Newscan Hong Kong
- OPSM Limited
- Landor Hong Kong
- Mallesons Stephen Jaques
- Swiss Prestige Ltd.
- Bureau Veritas Hong Kong Limited
- Centre for Clinical Trial & Epidemiological Research, the Chinese University of Hong Kong
CTN seeks to maintain strong links with the community by engaging in various community projects that promote translation, interpreting, and effective cross-cultural understanding.
Through these projects, we aim to link teaching with research, consultancy and professional practice, and enhance the reputation of the University.
Our Research Fellows, staff, graduates and undergraduates of the Department of Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Studies of the University play a vital role in providing support to these projects, which exemplifies our commitment to leveraging our expertise for the benefit of society.
1. Translation and Interpreting Services for the Community in Territory-wide Events
CTN offers professional translation and interpreting support to NGOs, and public/private organizations. These services help bridge language gaps and facilitate effective communication for diverse community needs.
Selected projects
Collaborator:
The Hong Kong Photographic Culture Association
Our Centre was invited by the Hong Kong Photographic Culture Association to serve as the "Official Translation Partner" of the event.
The first cross-regional, large scale photo festival – the Hong Kong Photo Festival – was organized in November and December 2010. The events of the HKPF include exhibitions to be held in different parts of Hong Kong; education activities ranging from introductory to advanced levels, catering to the public and young photo artists; and large-scale promotional events.
Translation from website contents to leaflets and booklets was provided by our Centre.
Details of the event can be found at http://www.hkphotofest.org/eng/index.html.
Collaborator:
Hong Kong Drama/Theatre and Education Forum (TEFO)
Commissioned by Hong Kong Drama/Theatre and Education Forum, the Centre for Translation undertook, in June 2007, a translation project of the Congress Handbook of the 6th World Congress of International Drama/ Theatre and Education Association (IDEA). IDEA is an international organization dedicated to the development, research and collaboration in drama education through the organization of this triennial event in different continents. It was the first time this Congress was held in Asia. Its theme was "Planting Ideas: Global Vision in Local Knowledge".
The Handbook was in four languages – Chinese, English, Spanish, and French – and the Centre mainly involved in English to Chinese and Chinese to English translation.
For further information of the Congress, please visit http://www.tefo.hk/html/eng/html/e04.htm.
Collaborators:
Home Affairs Bureau, HKSAR
Ms Au Wai Lin (Project Editor and Partner)
First launched in 2003, the Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum (ACCF) has established its reputation as one of the flagship cultural events of the region. The value of the Forum lies in the annual opportunity it provides for the sharing of ideas among cultural policy-makers, scholars and creative entrepreneurs of economies in Asia.
The Centre for Translation was invited by Ms Au Wai Lin to work together on a project to prepare bilingual texts for publication from the English transcripts of the open forum session of the Forum 2006 which centered round the theme “Asian Arts, Culture and Modernity”. The Centre oversaw the translation of the edited English transcripts into Chinese.
Graduates and undergraduate students were lined up to form a team of translators. A total of 10 sessions of the open forum, with a total of 135,555 words, were translated into Chinese in two months. The publication was published in March 2007.
Chief Editor and Project Co-ordinator:
Esther H.S. Kwok
Editors:
Dr Tan Zaixi
Dr John T.P. Lai
Karl K.C. Tang
Alvin T.S. Leung
Wu Bun
Queenie H.Y. Kung
Translators:
Dr Jack C.Y. Shu
Lily Ho
Iris W.Y. Tsang
Violet S.M. Sze
Undergraduate students of the Translation Programme
2. Service-Learning Translation Projects
CTN organizes service-learning projects where students apply their translation skills to benefit local and international NGOs. These experiences enable students to contribute meaningfully while gaining practical expertise in real-world settings.
Selected projects
Collaborator: The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts
The Centre was commissioned by the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts in 2007 to translate the book Béthanie and Nazareth: French Secrets from a British Colony from English into Chinese.
Béthanie and Nazareth are two of Hong Kong’s best-kept secrets which are now historic buildings in Hong Kong. The Academy was asked by the Hong Kong Government to project-manage the restoration of Béthanie and adapt it into the new home of its School of Film and Television. The book was published to commemorate the historic significance of these buildings. Now for the first time, the fascinating stories of these former French Mission foundations are brought to life by the author, historian Alain Le Pichon. The text is extensively illustrated with previously unpublished historic photographs from the French Mission archives in Paris, and contemporary images by renowned architectural photographer Virgile Simon Bertrand.
The translation project was completed with the help of graduates and undergraduate of the Translation Programme. The book 《伯大尼與納匝肋－－英國殖民地上的法國遺珍》 was published in 2011.
Collaborator:
The Oxford University Press (Hong Kong)
The translation project was commissioned by the Oxford University Press (China). The original English edition of the encyclopedia is a worldwide bestseller, with 2,082 entries in a set of nine volumes.
The project, which represents 18 months hard work by about 80 translation students, was the largest translation project ever carried out by students in Hong Kong. With Professor Martha Cheung as editor-in-chief leading a team of a couple of translation teaching staff, 5 full time placement students, graduate research assistants, scholars from outside, and the part-time and occasional contribution from current students and graduates, the project involved a great deal of research and turned out to be a most interesting teaching-learning exercise with a long term effect on the students involved in the project. It provided the perfect paradigm for translation teaching, with students profiting from valuable hands-on experience and publishing opportunities.
A book launch reception was jointly held by the Centre for Translation and the Oxford University Press (China) Ltd. in July 1998.
The Chinese translation of the Encyclopedia was published simultaneous in Taiwan, Hong Kong (in orthodox Chinese characters) and the Mainland of China (in simplified characters). The first print run was 16,000.
3. Collaborations with NGOs and Public Organizations
CTN partners with a range of NGOs and public institutions, providing language assistance during community events, and educational outreach programmes. Our efforts enrich local community life and foster multilingual interaction.
Selected project
The Centre for Translation and the Translation Programme had the honor to sponsor the translation and interpreting services for the Children’s Council meeting since its inception in 2003.
The Centre and the then Translation Programme led a team of undergraduate students and graduates of the Translation Programme to translate the motion papers and provide simultaneous interpreting for the event. The motion papers were delivered by groups of students from selected secondary schools in the presence of a number of legislative councillors and government officials.
The motion papers were usually published bilingually afterwards and the books would be distributed to schools, government departments and non-government organisations.
4. Translation Training
CTN has conducted training sessions for minority community interpreters in the medical sector, promoting translation and interpreting knowledge among interpreters and trainers.
Selected project
Collaborator:
HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre
The Centre for Translation was invited to co-organize with the HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre to organize the “Certificate Course in Medical Interpreting”. The project is managed by Dr Ester Leung, who is also the lecturer of the course. The course has a duration of 132 hours and is run from January to March 2011.
In 2009, Dr Ester Leung was invited by the HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre to offer professional advice and tutorship for their “Certificate Course in Community Interpreter Training”. This is the second time that Dr. Leung and the MacLehose centre have joined hands to run a course. With the experience gained running the pilot programme in 2009, Dr Leung succeeded in her funding application to the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme of the Research Grants Council. The title of her research is “Community Interpreting in Hong Kong”. Dr Leung hopes that her research can help improve the medical interpreting profession.
By integrating research and practical training, Dr. Leung aims to achieve knowledge transfer. Graduates who pass the Certificate Course will be awarded a certificate issued by our Centre.
Dr Leung was appointed the official representative of Hong Kong by the International Medical Interpreter Association in 2010 (Click to see the IMIA announcement) and won the HKBU Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Award in 2014.
