Lost & Found in Translation: From Methods Fair Workshop to a Global Research Network
June 2026 marks a year for the Lost & Found in Translation (L&FIT) Network funded by Methods North West. It is a collaborative network of PGRs/ECRs dedicated to exploring what is means to carry out interviews and research using translation.
Lost & Found in Translation (L&FIT) is a collaborative network of postgraduate researchers (PGRs) and early career researchers (ECRs) initially based across the four North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP) institutions. The network brings together researchers whose work involves qualitative interviews conducted across diverse languages, settings and disciplines.
The initiative was founded by , Lecturer in Arabic Cultural Studies (and scholar of Translation Studies) at the University of Manchester. Recognising that many PhD researchers were engaging with issues of translation often outside of Translation Studies, she identified a gap: cross-language research practices vary significantly across disciplines, yet opportunities for shared reflection were limited.
L&FIT began as a small group of scholars from across the NWSSDTP which includes 91直播, Liverpool, Lancashire, Lancaster and Keele Universities. These researchers initially came together to deliver a workshop at the Methods@91直播 2025 Methods Fair. What followed was not a one-off event, but an ongoing conversation that continued well beyond the Fair itself.
Building on this momentum, the group secured a Catalyst Grant in summer 2025. This funding supported a programme of three workshops (February, April and May 2026) and a conference in June 2026. From the outset, the diversity of the network was striking, with participants drawn from disciplines including Biology, Human Geography, Business, Politics, Literature, IT and Translation Studies. Guest speakers from the supported the network by sharing their own expertise while signposting the group to the latest translation research publications.
By the second workshop, the network had already expanded beyond the NWSSDTP region, welcoming contributors from institutions in China and Morocco, alongside a visiting scholar from the United States. The third workshop deepened these conversations further, focusing on the role of the researcher within the research process, and on how to ethically represent the communities involved in cross-language research.
The L&FIT Conference
The conference programme reflected the breadth and ambition of the network. Originally planned as a one-day event, it expanded into a two-day format - including an online component - to enable wider participation.
Topics ranged from AI algorithms and idioms, speech recognition and sign language, to research in conflict zones and the emotional complexity of interviews that extend beyond words. Participants also critically examined broader structural challenges, including how the 鈥榖ig social sciences鈥� engage with cross-language production, interpreters being seen as a problem, not a help, when 鈥榤oney talks鈥� in different languages; academia 鈥榮tuck鈥� in English.
A practising translator described the event as 鈥渄iversified, well-structured and highly relevant to the current state of the Translation field鈥�, highlighting the way it opened up new perspectives on both the challenges and possibilities of working across languages.
For those involved in organising the conference, the experience was equally significant. One Year 3 PGR reflected on the 鈥減rofessionalism and attention to detail demonstrated at every stage鈥�, describing it as 鈥渢he best experience I have had across no fewer than ten conferences and workshops this year.鈥�
Why has L&FIT resonated so strongly?
Reflecting on the network鈥檚 success, Dr Abou Rached describes L&FIT as 鈥渁cademic community development in action鈥�. Its impact, she suggests, stems from a combination of open collaboration, institutional support, and a shared recognition that translation is a vital component of academic research practice. Together, these elements have created 鈥渞ich potential to become a sustainable hub of knowledge-sharing in the methods area and beyond.鈥�
This sense of community is echoed by participants. One doctoral researcher noted that involvement in the network had encouraged greater reflexivity in their work, particularly in 鈥渒eeping grassroots voices at the centre of research鈥�. Another highlighted the personal significance of these connections, explaining that the network 鈥渕ade me feel less alone鈥� and part of a community.鈥�
Where next?
What began as a group of ten researchers across five North West universities has grown into an international network of around 50 scholars. Participants now span regions including North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Egypt), the Gulf (Qatar), China and beyond.
The network鈥檚 momentum has attracted strong support from the wider academic community. A guest speaker praised its success in 鈥渂ringing together such a diversity of disciplinary perspectives鈥� and emphasised the importance of sustaining this energy into 2026鈥�27.
For many involved, the value of L&FIT lies not only in intellectual exchange but in the sense of belonging it fosters. As one Year 2 PGR reflected, being part of the network has been 鈥渢ruly inspiring鈥� and has 鈥渞enewed my enthusiasm for translation studies鈥� another valued 鈥渉ow researchers from a wide range of fields are all, in different ways, contributing to language and cultural accessibility.鈥�
Looking ahead, the network plans to first extend these conversations through a dedicated blog, continuing to create space for dialogue, reflection and future collaborations.
Where can I find out more?
You can read more about the workshops and conference , and while L&FIT does not yet have a LinkedIn page, you can explore posts from the conference, panel by panel, and post by post, !