Human Powered Academy: Enabling Translators to Enhance Their Knowledge and Skills

Translation is an evolving and fluid industry that is continually impacted by new technology and ideas. Professional translators must develop and refine their skills to meet the challenges of the changing landscape.

Founded by Kaori Myatt, the Human Powered Academy enables translators to expand their knowledge and to improve everything they do.

Through online training sessions and in-person events, Kaori and highly regarded industry experts from around the world share their knowledge and expertise, exploring all aspects of translation and localisation including technological advancements.

The Human Powered Academy gives translators the perfect opportunity to enhance their skills and then advance their careers. 

Human Powered at Nagoya

Did you miss the special Human Powered Seminar that followed the JAT PROJECT NAGOYA event? Don't worry—you can still access the valuable insights it offered! Held on 25 November at the TKP Meitetsu Nagoya Station Conference Center and streamed online, this seminar featured industry-leading perspectives from Yukari Watanabe (Vice President of JAT) and Takahashi Satoshi (Director and Vice Chairman of the Japan Translation Federation (JTF)).

Whether you attended in person, joined the live stream, or couldn't make it, now’s your chance to deepen your understanding of how to effectively convey intended meaning in translation. The full recording of the seminar is available, allowing you to benefit from this invaluable session anytime, at your convenience.

Human Powered Academy 2024

​Throughout 2024, the Human Powered Academy has delivered sessions covering diverse aspects of translation. The sessions have been archived and can be accessed here.

Legal Translation

How to approach the translation of legal documents that feature complex, specialist terminology. Two lawyers, Professor Christopher Rathbone and Professor Yuka Masunari, looked at Japanese-English and English-Japanese legal translation, introducing specific source material and tools.

The Future of Technical Writing: The Benefits and Limitations of AI

Nakata Naohisa, a technical writer who is renowned for his technical writing courses, explored how translators should tackle Japanese technical writing. Nakayama Yukiko, a technical and patent translator, explained the challenges of English technical writing.

Entertainment Subtitling and Marketing Session No. 2 - Character Count, Review, and Style Guide

During this session Yumi Amano looked at the difficulties presented by character limits when subtitling. Reina Akemiya explained the principal dilemma faced by translators when reviewing work - how to balance being paid per word with ensuring that translations are properly proofread and reviewed.

Can a translator become an interpreter?

Learn the basics of interpreting and the specific skills required including note taking and enhancing memory with Yumi Green from Grin's Academy. Translators who are tired of working alone at home or those concerned about the impact of technology on their work can discover the possibilities offered by careers in interpreting.

Translation Improvement Course

An enlightening session that highlighted translation mistakes that can arise due to the differences between English and Japanese grammar. Further causes of inappropriate translations were also examined. Gendai Kawatsuki explained methods for improving translations and Yumiko Funatsu identified the common characteristics of strange translations.

The Translation Improvement Course - update

A presentation of edited samples based on assignments submitted by participants in the Translation Improvement Course offered earlier in the year. This session provided an opportunity to learn exactly what to look out for and how to deliver more polished work.

Take advantage of Human Powered

The Human Powered Academy provides unrivalled opportunities for Japanese translators to learn from leading industry experts. The knowledge, insight and experience of those experts continue to help translators to hone their own skills and even to change the direction of their careers.

We invite you to browse the various Human Powered sessions that have taken place this year and in previous years. In addition to the sessions highlighted above, you will discover talks covering medical translation, research, dictionaries and the use of AI plus much more.

No translator should ever stop learning, especially in such a rapidly evolving environment. Both new translators and experienced professionals can ensure that they deliver the best work and remain ahead of the game when they engage with the Human Powered Academy.