13 May 2020, Athens, Greece – When it was announced that colleges and universities would have to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Hellenic American College in Athens was in an immediate position to be able to transfer onsite courses to synchronous online sessions. With the help of the SubtitleNEXT platform, chosen for the Masters in Translation (MAT) Program and Audio-visual Translation Lab, students are currently able to continue working on SubtitleNEXT remotely to complete their courses without disruption.SubtitleNEXT is a flexible subtitling timed-text system that can run on different types of hardware. With the cooperation of the SubtitleNEXT team, the educational set-up was quickly adapted for remote working and virtual study. The powerful features in SubtitleNEXT and the collective team spirit have allowed students to continue their learning, and it will enable them to progress to the next stage of their educational journey.
Hellenic American College in Athens is a dynamic institution with lecturers who had already embraced and adopted SubtitleNEXT last year for its MAT program, arming a future generation with knowledge of how to effectively localize content for every major studio, OTT platform, and broadcast company to meet global consumer demand. The MAT is one of 14 academic degree programs of the US-accredited Hellenic American University which the College offers in Greece. Students in the MAT program acquire the credentials to begin a career in translation, audio-visual translation and editing.
Dr Vasilis Manousakis, who teaches Literary and Audio-visual Translation at Hellenic American College said, “Our strong culture and professional values ensure that students are at the heart of everything we do. I’m extremely proud of the SubtitleNEXT application that allows us to continue to offer an exceptional student learning experience and the vital service that many staff are providing remotely at this time. Technologies that can quickly adapt to changing situations are the future.”
Director of the MAT Program, Petros Romaios noted, “Hellenic American College in Athens adapts well to change, and our team and students remain resilient and positive, despite the challenges. The college immediately implemented our strategy so that students could continue studying and learning remotely to prevent the spread of COVID-19, with lecturers and tutors working tirelessly behind-the- scenes to move all operations online, share best practice and discover new and innovative ways of working. We view this current situation as an opportunity to reflect, review and innovate using SubtitleNEXT at the helm of our course.”
PBT EU’s Sales and Product Expert Maria Markovska added, “As soon as Hellenic American College in Athens was informed of the college closure announcement, the department was already in an advantageous position to move to remote working using SubtitleNEXT for the AVT Lab and MAT program to ensure continued high levels of student participation and engagement. We are pleased to hear how the college has taken advantage of SubtitleNEXT’s versatility that allows for remote collaboration. It is key to the MAT students to keep up with the subtitling course, and during this difficult period it is excellent to see the technology used to its full potential and that new and effective ways of working have been found during the challenging crisis. With SubtitleNEXT, Dr Manousakis and Mr Romaios, continue to transfer vital and creative subtitling skills in an evolving digital world.”
