The 2026 ECSPM Symposium was graciously co-hosted and co-funded by the Language Council of Saarland and Saarland University of Applied Sciences, and supported by the University of Strasbourg. Under the patronage of the Lord Mayor of Saarbrücken, it was also endorsed by the Saarbrücken Municipality and the State Chancellery of Saarland.

The symposium focused on the internationalisation in Higher Education (HE), understood not as a threat but as a gateway to new possibilities for universities which are facing serious challenges in this day and age. It focused on translation of academic knowledge, deeply intertwined with the internationalisation of universities.

The first day of deliberations, 19 March, participants had the opportunity to listen to talks by our keynote speakers and young researchers on the first symposium topic – internationalization of HE, and to discuss the issues they raised. The second day, 20. March, began with a valuable presentation by the European Commission’s Director General for Translation and continued with talks by our keynote and other invited speakers on the second symposium topic – Translation of scholarly knowledge. Moreover, on both days, invited ECSPM member organizations presented their research and current projects and participants had the opportunity to discuss the work they presented with them. For those interested the livestream recordings are available:

Below is the list of 2026 symposium speakers and their presentations (click on title of talk).

Introduction to the Symposium theme
Bessie Dendrinos, ECSPM president

SPEAKERS ON INTERNATIONALISATION OF HE AND MULTILINGUALISM

Internationalisation of HE in the time of antiliberalism (online)
Andrea Pető, Professor at the European University in Vienna

Towards an inclusive multilingual university
Terry Lamb, Professor at the University of Westminster

Universities as bordering spaces: Internationalisation, immigration, and the affective realities for students
Aisling Tiernan, Postdoctoral researcher at RWTH Aachen University

The de-internationalization policies in the Netherlands, and the experiences of students
Monté El Mahjoubi, Researcher trainee at Tilburg University

SPEAKERS ON TRANSLATION

Language data for European AI
Christos Ellinides, Director General of the European Commission’s DG for Translation, overseeing EU translation policy and AI-based language technologies

What are the prerequisites for constructing foreign academic knowledge through translation?
Jan Engberg, Professor at Aarhus University

Translation as global knowledge infrastructure: From European interoperability to planetary knowledge commons (on-line)
Effie Fragkou, Associate Lecturer at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

From translation tool to epistemic technology: Generative AI and the changing nature of knowledge translation across languages
Aleksandar Trklja, Associate Professor at the University of Innsbruck

Machine Translation as Educational Technology? (online)
Per Urlaub, Director of Global Languages at MIT & Eva Dessein Senior Lecturer in French at MIT

PRESENTATIONS BY ECSPM MEMBER ORGANISATIONS

Bilingualism Matters: Bridging research and society: Perspectives, challenges and mutual benefits
Antonella Sorace, Professor at the University of Edinburg

DIALOGUES – Languages, literacies, learning in a digital age
Kristin Vold Lexander, Professor at the University of Inland Norway and professor II at the University of Oslo

Language teaching and citizenship language requirements in Scandinavia
Marte Nordanger, Associate professor at the University of Inland Norway

Literacy in diversity settings: Integrating international approaches in research and teaching at the University of Hamburg
Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer, Professor at the University of Hamburg & Sarah McMonagle Faculty research manager at the University of Hamburg

The ACTIN project (ACT and connect for INtegration: language learning and cultural awareness)
Theodoros Marinis Professor at the University of Konstanz, Andrea Young Professor at the University of Strasbourg, Justine Holtzweiler PhD studen at the University of Strasbourg, Karina Al-Katauneh PhD student at the University of Strasbourg & Saskia Braun PhD student at the University of Konstanz & Maria Zerva Associate Professor at the University of Strasbourg