Dr Amal Mohammed Al Malki, Founding Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
DOHA: The Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII), part of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), is contemplating to add Turkish language under its translation offerings, as the Institute is focusing on oriental languages.
TII is considering to add some oriental languages and Turkish will be the first one, said Dr Amal Mohammed Al Malki, Founding Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
Talking to The Peninsula, Al Malki said that as per demand more languages will be added. She said that currently TII offers classes in seven languages including Arabic, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Portuguese, Italian and German.
Providing an overview of the college under which TII operates, Al Malki said, “The College of Humanities and Social Sciences offers a ‘Master of Arts in Audiovisual Translation’ and a ‘Master of Arts in Translation Studies’ and both are validated by the University of Geneva.”
She said that last year, the College launched two new innovative and interdisciplinary programmes. The first programme was the ‘Master of Arts in Women, Society and Development’, which is the only women’s studies master’s programme in Qatar.
The second was the ‘Master of Arts in Digital Humanities and Societies’, which is a unique master’s program in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. CHSS has so far attracted a pretty good number of students as it currently has a total of 54 students enrolled in four programmes.
Speaking on the goal of CHSS, Al-Malki said, “We take translation as an academic field and a complete profession. We provide students with the requisite tools to enable them to continue their PhD programs if they wish to pursue a profession in the translation industry in Qatar.”
She said that translation as a profession in Qatar is still under development. “We have graduates who have been working on startups on the projects that are happening for the first time in Qatar raising awareness on the importance of translation through intercultural communication in Qatar and beyond,” said Al-Malki.
She said that the translation programme also aims at supporting our multi-cultural society in Qatar. Speaking on the benefit of the translation programme in creating jobs, Al Malki said that it is an interdisciplinary field adding that translation could be an added value to the employees in any work sector. “So the graduates do not necessary to work as a translator and interpreter,” she added.
She said that at CHSS, students acquire tools, ability of critical thinking, communication skills which enable them to be fitted for various jobs. Regarding fee structures of the programmes offered by CHSS, Al Malki said that the fees are reasonable and many students are enjoying scholarships. “We have very good percentage of students who benefit from financial aid,” said Al Malki.
“Registration for this year’s graduate programmes ended on Sunday,” said Al Malki adding that the new academic year will start in August. Regarding basic admission criteria for master’s programmes, she said that candidates should hold a bachelor’s degree, among other criteria for enrollment.
The college welcomes applications from candidates who can clearly articulate their ideas. Dr Amal Al Malki worked as Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar where she taught courses in writing composition, postcolonial literature, theories of translation, and Islamic Feminism. Al Malki holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of London-SOAS, where she also earned a master’s degree in English-Arabic Applied Linguistics and Translation.
