Lect. Erkan ÇOTUK

Biography

I was born on 19 March 1981 in Olten, Switzerland. After my school years in Switzerland, I attended the Bahçelievler Anatolian High School in Istanbul from 1997. After graduating from there, I enrolled in the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting at Istanbul University and began my studies. During my studies, I volunteered to teach German to students at the Student Cultural Centre of Istanbul University for 4 semesters.

After graduating in 2004, I worked as a technical translator, editor, coordinator and translation project manager at Reinisch GmbH, a company that supports international companies in the fields of technical documentation and technical translation. In 2008, I started my military service as a German interpreter with the rank of reserve officer in the Turkish Air Force in Eskişehir. During this time, I performed translation work and developed projects to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the translation process related to aviation and technical maintenance.

After my service, I joined Locasis as a technical translator, a company working in the field of software and hardware localisation. During my employment, I prepared and conducted training sessions on technical translation, localisation, project management and translation tools for new and existing employees of the company. In addition, in 2006, I gave seminars on technical communication and computer-aided translation tools to the teaching staff of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Vocational School of Ege University as part of the European Union's vocational training programme (Leonardo da Vinci).

Since 2012, I have been lecturing on similar topics as an expert at the German Translation and Interpreting Department of Istanbul University and have been a lecturer in the same department since January 2013. In addition to my translator training, I have also taught German courses at institutions such as Galatasaray University and the Language Centre of Istanbul University.