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Staff Profile

Dr JC Penet

Reader in Translation Industry Studies

  • Email: jc.penet@ncl.ac.uk
  • Address: My office is OLB 5.02 (5th floor of the Old Library Building).


    In semester 2 of the academic year 2024-25, my office hours are Tuesdays 11.00-12.00 (over Microsoft Teams) and Fridays 10.00-11.00.


Background

Dr Penet is a Reader in Translation Industry Studies. He is the author of Working as a Professional Translator (London: Routledge, 2024). He is also a Certified Personal and Executive Coach (PG Certificate in Coaching, University of Warwick).


Teaching:

Dr Penet has extensive teaching experience in the fields of French and Translation Studies. Before joining Newcastle University in 2010, he was an Associate Lecturer at Dublin City University (Ireland) and a Lecturer at the University of the West of England. Here in the School of Modern Languages, he has developed, led on and taught across a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses (see 'Teaching' tab for more information about current teaching). Over the years, he has occupied a variety of leadership roles related to teaching at both School (e.g., programme directorship at both UG and PG level) and Faculty (e.g., Professional Standards Adviser) levels. Besides these roles, he also has wide-ranging experience acting as an External Examiner and as an external subject reviewer for programmes in French and/or Translation Studies (e.g., University of Leeds (2019-23), The Open University (2020-25), Swansea University (2021-25) and Herriot-Watt University (2024-27)).

In 2016, Dr Penet was awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Education Excellence Award in recognition for his dedication to outstanding education. The same year, he also gained Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).


Engagement:

Nationally, Dr Penet actively champions the value of translation (studies) by working closely with both academic and industry associations. He sit on the Executive Committee of UCFL (University Council for Languages) as elected representative for translation and interpreting (2024-28). He is an Elected Board Member of the UK's Institute of Translation and Interpreting (2025-28). He is also a Member of the International Network of Simulated Translation Bureaus (INSTB). Previously, Dr Penet also served as elected President of APTIS (Association of Programmes in Translation and Interpreting Studies, UK and Ireland) (2017-2021), which he co-founded with Dr Castro (University of Warwick).

As part of his research work, Dr Penet regularly offers wellbeing and self-care workshops to freelance translators in collaboration with professional associations. He is currently developing wellbeing and self-care resources for professional translators that will be freely available on the website of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting [ITI].


Research:

Dr Penet's research interest lies in the field of Translation Industry Studies. More specifically, his research explores the socio-economic and psychological impact of technologies/automation - not least AI (neural machine translation) and generative AI (Large Language Models) - on the translation industry (see the 'Research' tab for more information). Through his various research projects, he has established deep connections with some of the UK's key professional associations (e.g. Association of Translation Companies [ATC], Association of Interpreters and Translators [AIT], the Chartered Institute of Linguists [CIOL] and the Institute of Translation and Interpreting [ITI]). In 2024, he organised a ground-breaking international conference on the topic 'Ethics and Self-care in Translation and Other Professions'. He currently serves as the School of Modern Languages' Ethics Convenor.


Dr Penet is keen to hear from prospective postgraduate students with an interest in translation who would like to pursue PhD research on today's translation industry, especially with regard to wellbeing, self-care and issues of sustainability for the translation industry. Other potential, related topics involve translators' status and working conditions, and the impact of automation in general, and generative AI in particular, on the translation profession. Please do not hesitate to email email him (jc.penet@newcastle.ac.uk) if you would like to explore the possibility of completing a PhD under his supervision.


Association Membership:


Relevant CPD:

  • PG Diploma in Coaching (University of Warwick, started in 2024)
  • PG Certificate in Coaching (Distinction; University of Warwick, 2023)
  • Enhancing Programme Leadership (Advance HE, 2021)
  • Effective Online Course Design (University of Oxford, 2020)
  • International Summer School in Translation Technology (University of Leuven, 2018)
  • PG Certificate in Advanced Studies in Academic Practice (Distinction; Newcastle University, 2012)




Research

Dr Penet's research explores the socio-economic and psychological impact of technologies/automation on the translation industry's various stakeholders.

More specifically, his research looks at the impact of what is sometimes called the 'technological turn' - i.e., the relentless automation of the industry in the last 25 years as a result of technological advances - on the industry's production models and on the nature of the job of professional translators. In the last few years, translation automation has continued accelerating with the integration of generative AI in the production models. Through his research, Dr Penet seeks to explore the social impact of automation on the translation industry in general, and for freelance translators in particular (arguably the key stakeholders in the translation industry). Some questions his current research projects (see below) seek to answer are:

  • What is the impact of automation on job quality and job satisfaction in the translation industry in general, and for freelance translators in particular?
  • How does automation affect the financial, physical and psychological wellbeing of freelance translators?
  • In the age of automation, can translation still be considered "meaningful work", i.e. work that still "meets our needs for freedom and creativity? The concept of "meaningful work" is borrowed from the work of labour economist Prof. David Spencer (University of Leeds).
  • Beyond professional translators, how does translation automation affect the rest of the language industry and wider society at large?

Another, related question his research seeks to answer is the impact these changes have on the way we understand and deliver translator training and CPD for professional translators. This is why his research projects also seek to answer the following questions:

  • How can translator trainers better help trainee translators to thrive in this complex and fast-changing industry? Which new knowledge and skills (e.g. emotional intelligence literacy, data literacy, digital resilience) should we teach in the age of generative AI?
  • How can CPD better support freelance professional translators in the age of generative AI? Could targeted interventions that use coaching techniques help improve freelance translators' mental toughness and, therefore, their overall wellbeing?


Current projects:

1. “Measuring the impact of structured wellbeing workshops that use coaching-style conversations as a form of peer support on freelance translators’ mental toughness” (2025-26). Principal Investigator: Dr Penet; Co-Investigator: Dr St Clair-Thompson, School of Psychology. Carried out in partnership with the UK’s Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI), this interdisciplinary, action-research project explores the effectiveness of structured wellbeing workshops that introduce freelance translators to the construct of mental toughness within a coaching context and trains them hands-on in the art of having coaching-style as a form of peer support on their mental toughness and wellbeing over a period of six months.

2. TransIT -“The Translation Industry in Transition: Automation, Sustainability, and New Production Models in the Translation Ecosystem” (2024- ). Principal Investigator: Dr Walker (University of Leeds). Co-Investigators: Dr Penet and Dr Lambert (Cardiff University). Building on the success of the British Academy-funded research project "Chasing Status"(see below), TransIT aims to expand on the scope of our enquiry by exploring the UK translation industry’s response to change over time. Developed in close collaboration with key industry stakeholders (Association of Translation Companies, Chartered Institute of Linguists and Institute of Translation and Interpreting), this new phase of the project will help develop a clearer understanding of the contrasting and complementary perspectives and narratives of a wide range of industry stakeholders, and to better appreciate the psychology behind why some are able to view this current period of transition as an opportunity, while others see it as a threat. The research team are currently working on a funding application for an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Grant (approx. £700,000). Dr Penet is leading on Work Package 3 that seeks to form an empirically-informed understanding of the impact of 'translation industry psychology' on moments of transition​.

3. JoSSTIn – “Job Satisfaction and Sustainability in the Translation Industry” (2024- ). Created in 2024, JoSSTIn is an international research network that brings together experts from Finland (Dr Ruokonen, University of Eastern Finland), Ireland (Dr Moorkens, Dublin City University), Japan (Prof. Sakamoto, Kansai University), Slovakia (Dr Bednarova-Gibova, University of Presov), Sweden (Dr Svahn, Stockholm University), the United States (Dr Rodríguez, University of North Carolina Charlotte) as well as the UK (Dr Penet, Newcastle University; Dr Hubscher-Davidson, The Open University; Dr Lambert, Cardiff University and Dr Walker, University of Leeds). Together, we are combining our expertise to develop a common methodology to explore job satisfaction and sustainability in the translation industry in a variety of contexts. 

4. Current publication projects:

·      Main editor of Teaching Translation in the Age of Generative AI: New Paradigm, New Learning, which will be published Open Access by Language Science Press in 2025. Co-editors: Dr Moorkens (DCU, Ireland) and Prof. Yamada (Rikkyo University, Japan).

·     Guest editor with Prof. Massey (ret. ZHAW, Switzerland) and Dr Mastela (Jagiellonian University Krakow, Poland) of the special issue of Interpreter of Translator Trainer vol. 21 (2027): “Value(s) in and of T&I Pedagogy: Educating Professionals for Today’s Language Industry”

·     Co-editor with Dr van Egdom (Utrecht University, Netherlands), Dr Kerremans (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium) and Dr Fernández-Parra (Swansea University) of the handbook Smart Simulation: INSTB Handbook of Translation Simulation that will be published Open Access by Language Science Press in 2026.


Recent past projects:

  • 2023-24: "Chasing Status: The Sustainability of the Freelance Translation Profession in the United Kingdom" - Co-Investigator with Dr Walker (Leeds, Principal Investigator) and Dr Lambert (Cardiff, Co-Investigator). British Academy Small Research Grant awarded in March 2023 (£9,060). You can access the project's website here.
  • 2021-23: "Let's talk about emotions: Exploring the role of Trait EI in translator training" co-led with Dr Fernández-Parra (Swansea University). The first phase of this project (2021-2022) won the APTIS Award for Great Pedagogical Practice 2022 (November 2022, Leeds University). The second part was awarded £1,900 funding; Dr Penet trained as a coach as part of this project (PG Certificate in Coaching, University of Warwick).
  • 2020-23: Associate Partner on the Erasmus + research project EFFORT ("Towards a European Framework of Reference for Translation"): effortproject.eu. Lead institution: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.
  • 2018-22: Member of the CATO ("Competence Awareness in TranslatiOn") project. This was a pan-European project surveying MA Translation students' self-awareness of competences they are developing on their course (based on EMT Competence Framework). Lead institution: Université de Paris, France.


Past funded projects at Newcastle University:

  • Translation Networks (2014-18)
  • NU InterComs - Intercultural Competence for University Students (2016-19)


Teaching

Dr Penet teaches at both undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) level. He teaches translation theory, professional and socio-cultural aspects of translation as well as institutional translation. He also teaches more practical (workflow-related) aspects of translation such as CAT tools, project management, terminology management and quality control.


In particular, he is the module leader for:

  • TRI1002: Translation Theory & Practice 1 (UG)
  • TRI4002: Translation Theory & Practice 3 (UG)
  • SML8023: The Language Industry (PG)
  • SML8024: Translator Entrepreneur (PG)
  • SML8025: Translating for a Big Institution: The EU - A Case Study (PG)


Dr Penet has extensive experience supervising UG and PG Translation Studies dissertations. He welcomes dissertation proposals from students wishing to explore the following topics:

  • Translation and/in Industry e.g. Translators in the age of language technology/automation (e.g. AI); Translation Quality Assurance [especially the gap between academia and the industry]; Impact of automation on translators' work and their wellbeing; Self-care for professional translators; Collaborative translation and crowdsourced translation; Institutional translation; User-centred approaches to translating; Video-game translation/localisation; Translation and marketing/Transcreation; New trends emerging in the language industry etc.
  • Translator skills/competences e.g. Role of (inter)cultural competence in translator competence; role of emotions in translator competence [psychological dimensions] etc.
  • Translators and/in society e.g. Translators' status and working conditions; Translators' (professional) sub-cultures and identities; Translators and (self-)censorship etc.


Here are a few examples of dissertations I had the pleasure to supervise in the last few years:

  • 'Surviving Solo? A Comprehensive Investigation into Freelance Translator Wellbeing and Flow during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK.' (Lauren Evans, 2024)
  • 'Rethinking Translator Education: The Efficacy of Prompt Training on Trainee Translators.' (Gloria Ruoan Deng, 2024)
  • 'Spanish Cultural Representation: A Textual Analysis of Netflix’s Audiovisual Translation of Money Heist.' (Eva di Micco, 2024)
  • 'Translating Japanese culture through anime: a comparative analysis of English and Spanish subtitles.' (Tia Manka, 2024)
  • 'Beauty Across Borders: The Influence of Culture in the Translation of Print Advertisements Published in ELLE Magazine' (Olivia Pocock, 2024)
  • 'Redefining Translation: Generative AI’s Impact on Trainee Translator Creativity' (Madelyn Miller, 2024)
  • 'A study into Google Translate’s suitability for translation of literary prose from French into English.' (Matthew Richmond, 2020)




Publications