SDL Desktop Products, a division of SDL International, the world’s largest provider of language translation software, announced today a new Academic Sponsorship Program that will provide qualifying academic institutions with a wealth of new educational resources that respond to the industry’s requirement for standards-based translation software.

 
Beginning with significant discounts that make it easy for virtually any qualifying institution to outfit their labs with the industry’s leading Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) software - SDLX, academic institutions will also receive free training for instructors, a new certification program, promotion of their academic programs from the SDL website and access to a secure web-based information repository. This repository will allow universities to network and share their knowledge on CAT tools including contributions also being made by SDL. The site will, in effect, provide immediate content for CAT curriculum.

“Over a year ago, SDL made a commitment to help us add a new component to our CAT course. Bringing SDLX into the curriculum has allowed us to bring diversity and modernization to the content of the class,” said Hélène Wimmerlin, Associate Lecturer at UWM, and Account Executive at Iverson Language Services, Inc. “By giving our students a chance to use SDLX on actual coursework, we feel confident that they will be better prepared for work in the real world.”

Affiliation with the program for the past year has allowed the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) to reap the full rewards of participation. The addition of CAT tools, such as SDLX, to a translation program has been known to boost student interest and enrollment. It will also give participating universities a competitive advantage in preparing students for the translation world.

“It is estimated that over fifty percent of major corporations, translation agencies and professional linguists utilize translation technology on a regular basis - and that number is expected to grow significantly within the next few years. Additionally, more and more companies are requiring that their translators and vendors work with TMX-Certified products.” said Keith Laska, General Manager of SDL Desktop Products. “Universities who adopt SDLX in their translation courses are preparing their students for this reality. We are happy to support them by taking such an active part in this educational growth.”

More information on the Academic Sponsorship Program can be found at http://www.sdlintl.com/products-university.htm