The Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies (LINCS) is delighted to celebrate a new cooperation agreement between Heriot-Watt University and the University of Granada, formalising and strengthening a relationship that has connected our institutions for many years.
The partnership builds on a long history of collaboration through student and staff exchanges, research activities, academic cooperation and language assistantships. This new agreement provides a framework for expanding those connections even further, creating new opportunities for students, graduates and colleagues in both Scotland and Spain.
For LINCS, international partnerships are much more than institutional agreements. They are an important way of helping our students and graduates develop the skills, confidence and experience needed to thrive in an increasingly international world. Studying languages opens doors to diverse careers, and opportunities to work, study and collaborate abroad allow our graduates to put their linguistic and intercultural expertise into practice while building professional networks across countries and cultures.
A recent example of the value of this collaboration is Emily Chambers, who became the second Heriot-Watt Languages graduate to take up a graduate position at the University of Granada through the partnership between the two institutions.
Since graduating from Heriot-Watt’s Translation and Interpreting programme, Emily has pursued an impressive international career. She worked with the United Nations Department of Peace Operations in New York through the Fiona Watson Memorial Fund Award, gained experience in teacher training for English language educators, and completed a traineeship at the European Centre for Modern Languages in Graz, Austria. There, she contributed to multilingual projects, translation and interpreting activities, and publications developed for the Council of Europe.
Emily is now working at the University of Granada, where she has returned directly to the field of translation and interpreting while gaining experience within a higher education environment.
Reflecting on her experience, Emily says:
“I am now working at the University of Granada as part of the collaboration between the University of Granada and Heriot-Watt University. It is exciting to get directly back to translation and interpreting and I have already learned so much from students and colleagues.”
Her advice to current students and recent graduates is equally inspiring:
“There are so many diverse options for language graduates. Don’t fear rejection and don’t limit yourself.”
Emily’s journey illustrates the breadth of opportunities available to language graduates and demonstrates how international partnerships can lead to meaningful professional experiences. It also highlights the lasting benefits of the relationship between Heriot-Watt and Granada, which continues to support mobility, employability and academic collaboration.
As this partnership enters a new phase, we look forward to creating further opportunities for our students and graduates while continuing to strengthen the close ties between our two universities.
International collaboration has always been at the heart of language learning. Through partnerships such as this, we are helping to ensure that our students leave Heriot-Watt not only with academic knowledge, but also with the global outlook, intercultural awareness and professional experience that will support them throughout their careers.
