Cheongju University offers real-time lecture translations for international students

Korean lectures are translated into English and Chinese at Cheongju University. [CHEONGJU UNIVERSITY]

Cheongju University has been offering real-time translations of lectures into multiple languages for international students since the start of the spring semester.

The university has been translating Korean lectures into Chinese, English and Mongolian since March. The university says it can add more target languages if necessary.

Cheongju University's translation service collects audio data from an AI-based speech recognition system, translating it into three different languages using an AI-powered translation tool.

The original Korean text is shown below the classroom's projector screen, along with the translated text. More than one target language can be shown on the screen.

The university decided to introduce a translation service to help international students understand Korean lectures better.

At Cheongju University, there are 1,027 international students enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate programs.

"We plan to apply the system even during summer and winter vacations during seminars, student counseling sessions and when students meet with their professors to discuss their thesis," said Kwon Hyuk-jae, head of the university's Office of International Affairs. "We plan to introduce more services to help international students understand classes easily and to enhance the quality of our education."

Cheongju University isn't the only university translating lectures for international students.

Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) is currently offering real-time translation lectures into English at its School of Environment and Energy Engineering as a trial run. Although the service is only offered in one classroom, GIST is planning to expand the service to more classrooms.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]