This PhD aims to surface, evaluate and advance pathways of meaning-making through translation, both cultural and interlingual, in the context of promoting engagement with Scotland’s (in)tangible heritage. It will do so in two empirical directions by exploring: (i) how the experience of inbound visitors is mediated via translation in museums, galleries and other heritage sites, and (ii) if and how translation is integrated into the development of outbound collaborations between Scottish heritage organisations and their international partners. At the same time, the project will serve as an opportunity to probe whether GenAI translation can be leveraged responsibly as a tool for supporting best practice in both contexts.

The main objectives are as follows:

Objective 1: produce the first systematic empirical account of how international visitors experience translated heritage interpretation at Scottish sites, covering comprehension, emotional response, trust and recall.

Objective 2: compare visitor responses to human and GenAI translations of the same content, identifying which features of a translation, which kinds of heritage and what type of visitor emerge as the most significant variables.

Objective 3: document how translation is organised, governed and negotiated in collaborative scenarios such as loans and travelling exhibitions between Scottish and international partners, evaluating translation policy if and as it operates there.

Objective 4: assess with partners whether and how GenAI could reinforce both the production of multilingual material at heritage sites and the development of international collaborations, paying particular attention to questions of accuracy, specialised terminology, intellectual property, identity, trust and creativity. 

Objective 5: convert the findings into reusable resources such as a co-produced charter for responsible GenAI use, the creation of a shareable interlingual heritage termbase, a practice framework for translation in international collaborations and perhaps even a governmental policy briefing document.

These objectives respond collectively to strategic Scottish and UK-wide aims of enhancing international engagement, reaching wider audiences and embedding responsible GenAI use in creative and heritage settings. They further work to address empirical and topical gaps in Translation Studies around the impacts of existing translation provision on international visitors, the role of translation in international heritage collaborations and the opportunities and challenges associated with GenAI translation in remediating heritage narratives.

The PhD will adopt a mixed-methods approach under the general umbrella of a qualitative participatory case study methodology. This allows flexibility in terms of the language pairs of the successful PhD student (French-English, Spanish-English and/or Italian-English), their areas of interest (e.g. difficult pasts, decolonisation, sustainability), and the availability of heritage partners who are hoped to be involved in the co-design of the project.

Further information

Applicants with an interest in knowledge exchange are particularly encouraged to apply, as the project offers opportunities to work closely with external partners and to help shape translation practice beyond academia.

Interviews process:

Applications will be reviewed by a selection panel after the closing date and incomplete applications will not be considered.

• Applicants shortlisted for interview will be notified week commencing 23 November 2026
• Interviews will be conducted week commencing 30 November 2026
• The successful applicant must be able to commence study on 1 January or 1 April 2027