ZOO Digital Group PLC is a world-renowned provider of subtitling, dubbing and media localisation services, i.e. the creation and shaping of content in such a way as to adapt it to the needs of local audiences. The company's production branches are located in several countries (Great Britain, USA, United Arab Emirates), e.g. in Dubai, El Segundo, Los Angeles, London and Sheffield. The company has over 500 employees worldwide and draws on a global network of over 5,000 freelance translators and dubbing artists. The employees of our new partner often support Hollywood film productions and cooperate with recognized studios, such as Warner Bros, Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures.
However, the activity of the British company is not limited to the provision of commercial services. Its tasks also include training activities. ZOO Digital launched the so-called ZOO Academy to teach and conduct research in the field of AVT (audiovisual translation). As of the next academic year, classes within the Academy will also be held at the Faculty of Philology of the University of Lodz.
I had an online conversation with representatives of the Zoo Academy from the University of Bristol in April. After presenting our portfolio and activities in the field of AVT that I conduct with the students of the University of Lodz Faculty of Philology, I received consent and an offer to participate in the Academy by teaching our students based on the ZOO Digital Group PLC cloud software
– explains Prof. Aleksy Kucy from the Institute of Russian Studies at the University of Lodz.
Thanks to the agreement, students of Linguistics for Business, Russian Philology and Studies on Poland with English will gain access to specialised software to be used in the audiovisual translation classes. Importantly, the agreement between the Faculty of Philology and ZOO Digital Group PLC is a framework agreement and opens up opportunities for all lecturers willing to teach AVT in all study programmes available at the Faculty of Philology based on the Academy ZOO digital service and software.
Text: Bartosz Burski (Facylty of Philology, University of Lodz)