ICIQ3 Granada – a brief love story of research and practice

Still fresh from my first international conference, I am trying to make sense of the mix of emotions running wild through my mind.

The International Conference on Quality in Interpreting took place in Granada, Spain, from 5 to 7 of October. I had been very much looking forward to it since the day I stumbled upon the call for papers on Twitter some months ago, as quality in interpreting was the subject of my MA thesis and I wanted to dig even deeper into this topic. Quality has always fascinated me, as you can tell from one of my previous posts, for the different angles and perspectives in which it can be declined and analysed, together with the amount of unchartered territory still left to investigate notwithstanding the almost 40 years of research. It is a tricky concept to work with due to the subjectivity to which it is prone, and this is complicated by the methodological issues that arise when researchers set out to investigate it on the field, which can span from a lack of subjects to study, to the validity of the whole study from a scientific point of view.

The program of the conference looked extremely promising, with distinguished keynote speakers such as Daniel Gile and Fernando Poyatos, and the structure offered a great mix of round tables, panel discussions and presentations on research findings.

I have to admit that the three days were a remarkable tour de force, with the conference running from 9am ‘til 7pm every day. The content of the discussions and presentations was intense and mentally stimulating, inevitably leading to the discussion carrying on even during the breaks – our brains didn’t get the chance (or even want to) to rest for one second! A highlight of the discussions was certainly Gile’s keynote presentation, which was informative, enlightening and inspiring: I was amazed by his ability to convey the state of the investigation in such a straightforward manner, together with the ease with which he identified the key points we still need to learn more about in order to move forward with research and at the same time improve our professional practice. Another extremely interesting debate arose during the live demonstration of virtual remote interpreting where two platform providers presented their products and were ready to listen to the community’s feedback and questions. The discussion was lively and at times even tense, as we were looking at a huge shift in paradigm for our profession that has been compared to the arrival of simultaneous interpreting 80 years ago. This topic deserves a post of its own, so stay tuned for more!

Finally, during the last round table on the relationship between research, practice and training, the debate heated up once again on the issue of communication between research and practice. As the audience was quite heterogeneous with both academics and practitioners, it was quickly understood that a sort of barrier exists between the two, to different degrees in different parts of the world, and something needs to be done to promote a mutually-beneficial closer relation: researchers need to better market themselves and approach practitioners with interesting and engaging studies. Practitioners, on the other hand, need to make an effort to understand the benefits they can get draw from research, and be more willing to take part in it. A lack of a shared space in which dialogue is fostered was also highlighted.

On a personal level, the conference was a great occasion to meet with fellow practitioners and academics from all over the world and share thoughts, opinions and concerns in a relaxed, friendly and engaging environment. I had the chance to meet colleagues I had previously only had the chance to speak to via social media, get to know new ones and converse in a very informal way with some of the most active researchers in our field, which is something I am still trying to wrap my head around!

- Me trying to keep it together while surrounded by my research idols -

I guess what I am trying to say is, if you get the chance, book your ticket to a conference, be it academic or professional, and just go for it – you will be amazed by the amount of knowledge you’ll bring back with you, together with positive personal experiences!