"Can't Read, Won't Buy" is a global marketing phenomenon in which customers will not buy anything that is not presented in their native languages. Successful marketing depends on many factors, but language is crucial in creating a compelling customer experience. Amid the advancement of AI-powered machine translation (MT) systems, human touch finds increasing salience in the virtual and physical world of businesses. This is because translation goes beyond rendering a message from one language to another – it must convey the tone, intent and experience that reflect the brand and its reputation and trustworthiness, while being sensitive to linguistic, cultural and geopolitical differences.

Given the increasing popularity of digital content, products and services such as websites, social media, e-commerce, live streaming, and video games, it is of paramount importance for businesses to effectively engage their customers of different ethnic, geopolitical, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Tech-savvy bilingual professionals are highly sought after if they are able to provide one-stop language service solutions, including translation (rendering a message from one language to another), internationalisation (ensuring a product or content can be adapted for various languages without engineering changes to the source code) and localisation (adapting a product or content to a specific locale or market).

The Graduate Diploma in Translation and Technology (GDTT) prepares students for a career in infocomm media and professional services, which are among the key growth sectors in the new digital economy. The programme combines the art of translation with the advancement of technology, injecting the richness of culture into business and marketing. Students will learn to use a variety of software and tools to enhance the quality of translation as well as manage localisation projects with efficiency. They will cultivate strong sensitivity to socio-cultural and geo-political differences in order to create an engaging experience for their global customers.

All courses are practice-oriented and technology-based. They offer students an opportunity to acquire skills in Machine Translation Post-Editing (MTPE), subtitling, transcreation and localisation. Students will also sharpen their computing skills in areas such as application software, web design and video creation. Industry experts will be invited to conduct lessons or talks to share their expertise on the relevant subjects. The interdisciplinary knowledge and digital skills acquired by graduates of the programme will enable them to help companies they work for to connect with customers in different regions, thus expand their brand presence and reach. The cross-cultural understanding fostered through the programme will give graduates an edge in managing diversity and offering creative solutions to issues arising from linguistic, cultural and geopolitical differences.

This programme welcomes students who are proficient in English and at least one mother tongue language such as Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

Unique Features of the Programme

• Three of the six courses are SkillsFuture (SSG) funded courses. Eligible applicants can enjoy up to 90% SSG subsidies for their course fees.
• The first graduate programme in Asia that centres on machine translation and localisation with English as the medium of instruction.
• The only graduate programme in translation that offers language pairs involving all four official languages in Singapore (i.e. English-Chinese, English-Malay, English-Tamil).
• Stackable programme structure that gives students the flexibility to exit with a Graduate Certificate in Localisation or progress on to obtain a Master of Management or Master of Social Sciences.
• A career-focused curriculum that prepares students for professional certification such as CEPT/CEPI and industrial accreditation such as Localisation Project Management (LPM).