Bruno Guerra
The content of this news item has been machine translated and may contain some inaccuracies with respect to the original content published in Spanish.
The contributions and news from our University are highly valued by the international academic community. Therefore, thanks to the WegLot software, three institutional pages: PuntoEdu, the Genomics Laboratory e Icoba can now be shared in English. And, in the case of PuntoEdualso in Chinese and German.
The international outreach achieved by our University thanks to this tool was an initiative of the Directorate of Institutional Communication (DCI). With this, the intention is to broaden the impact of the news of our University, and to establish a dialogue with colleagues and international peers. "Many PUCP news items are not only of interest to the university community, but also to other actors with whom the University has relations and links, such as universities, organisations and centres around the world. For example, the PUCP conducts research with international peers, and maintains exchange programmes for students and professors," explains Rosario Yori, head of the DCI's Content Office.
Head of the JIU Content Office
The use of software that makes fast, automated translations allows us to have a greater reach to the public in other languages. "The use of this tool brings benefits, as it allows us to translate our content simultaneously and immediately," he says. On the quality of the translated content, Yori adds that "despite not having the nuances that can be achieved in a translation done by a human being (who can, for example, interpret the meaning of a text), the tool is very accurate in its translations. However, as a warning to readers, we have placed at the beginning of each article that an automated translation tool has been used and may contain some inaccuracies.
WegLot translates content automatically using NMT(Neural Machine Translation ) technology. This computer process uses algorithms to translate texts. Ana Ten, head of UX and Digital Marketing at the DCI, explains that, over time, the maturity of the algorithms will make translations more accurate: "The algorithms behind the automated translations are based on neural networks that 'learn' over time as they are used to translate larger volumes of content. In that sense, they are expected to become progressively closer to the way a native speaker of the language would write," he explains.
Head of UX and Digital Marketing at DCI
"Since the tool works on a Software As A Service basis, we don't have to deal with maintenance, except for integrations with the University's websites, so compatibility between the solution and the Content Management Systems (CMS) we work with is a critical factor," Ten said of the process of working with the tool.
This tool aims to lead our institution towards a constant and international dialogue and exchange. In that sense, several PUCP units that have contact with international audiences will be able to share the contents of PuntoEdu in the three different languages.
"This tool contributes to the dissemination of our work beyond Spanish-speaking countries," says Eduardo Dargent, director of the Academic Directorate for Institutional Relations (DARI).
Carlos Silva, head of the VRI's Research Promotion Directorate, welcomed the initiative. "The proposal for cross-language translation that we now see in PuntoEdu shows us a very agile and reliable tool for researchers with language difficulties. It is certainly a contribution that will be appreciated," says Silva.
Patricia Ortiz, representative of the PUCP Confucius Institute, commented that native teachers agreed that the translation into Mandarin Chinese was adequate for a software. She also commented that, through the language, a bridge is being established so that the Chinese institutions with which the PUCP has agreements are aware of the University's commitment to the country's development. "To have a Mandarin Chinese version of the PuntoEdu is a clear sign of the interest in strengthening its relations with its Chinese academic partners," says Ortiz.
Access the PuntoEdu in three languages, English, Chinese and German, at the top right of the subject area bar.
