Teaching the Value of Human Expertise
Addressing the topic of language AI technology, Delorme Benites told Slator that today’s coursework focuses not just on how professionals can optimize their workflow with AI, but on how these technologies impact global communication practices and where human expertise remains indispensable.
“I was confronted with the rise of machine translation very early on. I had my first post-editing jobs even before neural machine translation was launched. This brought me to also actively integrate machine translation into the curricula early on,” she added.
She also said that the idea was, and still is, to address technology at the micro-level (how can professional translators optimize their work using AI?), but also at the macro-level (how do non-linguists use language technologies?).
Her expectation is that a curriculum that bridges scientific theory and practical application ensures students possess the deep knowledge and systematic research skills required upon graduating. “Our students will be provided with the relevant skills and tools to make decisions and take action, and hence be the ones responsible for communication with or without AI.”
“A very simple aspect is accountability. Even when AI performs amazingly well and fast – and to some extent cheaper than human labor – there always comes a point where someone needs to make decisions,” she explained.
Legacy and Strategic Vision
Having served as the Department’s Deputy Director since 2024, Delorme Benites has worked closely with her predecessor, Daniel Perrin. She highlighted that Perrin gave the department “a voice in the public debate when it comes to language, communication and multilingualism.”
Remarking on the importance of multilingualism in Switzerland, a country with four official languages, she added that this is “certainly something that I will carry forward and even increase. It also is something that I have not seen in other departments or faculties in Germany or France.”
With 891 students and 204 staff members, the ZHAW Department of Applied Linguistics stands as one of the largest in Europe. Under Delorme Benites’ leadership, the department aims to further its mission of blending AI with human added value to shape the future of media, language, and communication professions.
“Our students will be provided with the relevant skills and tools to make decisions and take action, and hence be the ones responsible for communication with or without AI.” — Alice Delorme Benites, PhD, Head of the Department of Applied Linguistics, ZHAW
What sets this department apart, according to her, is its unique interdisciplinarity: ZHAW integrates media studies, translation, technical writing, and didactics under one roof. This academic profile allows the institution to solve practical, real-world problems through close collaboration with industry partners and public organizations.
Looking at the broader European landscape, Delorme Benites advocates for a shift in how universities approach Natural Language Processing (NLP). Rather than attempting to compete directly with Big Tech in developing Large Language Models (LLMs), she believes academia should focus on providing a vital interdisciplinary perspective.
“AI-driven communication is not only a matter of linguistics or NLP, but also a question of ecological sustainability, working conditions, cognitive development, learning processes, and much more,” she added.
As Delorme Benites transitions to her new role at ZHAW, she told Slator about her strategic goals for transforming her department into a more agile organization, capable of reacting to rapid, unforeseen disruptions in the higher education market, weaving the internal expertise of the department into the fabric of the industry, and encouraging researchers and teachers to explore entirely new formats and methods and solidify the department’s role as a leader in Applied Linguistics across Europe.
