European Commission ​​Invites Translation Students to Help Evaluate AI Language Models

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Translation (DG Translation) has invited students from universities in the European Master’s in Translation (EMT) network to take part in a project assessing how well AI language models perform across EU languages.

Announced on March 11, the initiative will give EMT students the opportunity to contribute to efforts aimed at improving how AI systems used in multilingual applications are evaluated, with the goal of ensuring they perform effectively across the European Union’s diverse linguistic landscape.

According to DG Translation, the project reflects the rapid evolution of the language industry and translation education, where understanding how AI tools perform across languages has become an important skill for future language professionals.

By participating, students will gain exposure to workflows that combine linguistic expertise with artificial intelligence and language engineering. DG Translation said the project aims to help students explore career paths at the intersection of language and technology while gaining insight into how AI tools are developed and assessed.

In a LinkedIn post, Christos Ellinides, Director-General for Translation at the European Commission, said the initiative reflects the importance of supporting the next generation of language professionals as the industry evolves rapidly.

DG Translation said the initiative underscores its broader commitment to “helping young language professionals navigate the changing landscape of language technology.”

The project comes amid growing interest in AI among language professionals. During a recent DG Translation virtual event on language careers that attracted more than 2,200 participants, many attendees asked about the impact of AI on translation workflows and the future of the profession. 

DG Translation said that while AI is here to stay and the organization uses state-of-the-art tools, the technology is expected to change working methods rather than replace translators, leaving more complex and creative tasks to humans. It also pointed to emerging AI-focused career paths within the profession, including roles such as prompt engineer.