Professor Martin Ward

Profile

I have been teaching at the University of Leeds since 2017, having also graduated from Leeds in 1999 with a BA in Chinese and Japanese Studies (1st class honours). I gained my M.Ed (2003) and PhD (2006) in Asian Culture from Hiroshima University in Japan as a Monbusho Scholar. My Phd thesis (in Japanese) examines the work of CMS missionary J.R. Wolfe in Fujian Province in the 1860s and 70s, in particular exploring the somewhat political nature of his missionary work in the context of the unequal post-Tianjin Treaty China. A crucial aspect of the meeting of cultures and civilizations is the role of translation, and my research focus later moved to centre around translation studies and translation pedagogy.

Responsibilities

• Professor of Chinese and Japanese Translation
• AHC Faculty Academic Lead for Global Campus Experience
• University Lead for Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)

Research interests

I am engaged in on-going scholarship into the teaching of Chinese and Japanese to English translation at higher education institutions. In 2020 I established the international East Asian Translation Pedagogy Advance (EATPA) network to bring together practitioners in the field of Chinese/Japanese/Korean translation pedagogy at universities around the world to stimulate pedagogical advances within the field.

I conduct scholarship on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) to underpin the scaling up of COIL at the University of Leeds.

In addition to this, I also conduct research into the translation of Chinese political discourse and the translation of wartime Japanese military archives housed in China, regularly give presenting my work in these fields at international conferences.

As an overseas expert of the Translators’ Association of China I frequently collaborate on translation-related academic projects with colleagues in China and deliver keynote speeches at related conferences.

Qualifications

• PGCAP
• Fellow Advance HE
• PhD (Asian Culture)
• M.Ed (Asian Culture)
• B.A. Chinese and Japanese Studies

Professional memberships

• Overseas Expert of the Translators Association of China (TAC)
• European Society for Translation Studies (EST)
• Advance HE
• JAITS (Japan Association for Interpreting and Translation Studies)
• East Asian Translation Pedagogy Advance (EATPA)
• International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS)

Student education

The focus of my teaching is Chinese and Japanese to English translation, although I have previously also taught a variety of other modules within East Asian Studies. Within my translation teaching I actively seek to incorporate Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) wherever possible, providing students with the opportunity to work collaboratively with their peers learning translation in other countries. To date I have run translation COILs with universities in China, Japan, Australia and Canada.

I also speerhead the institution’s work to scale up the provision of COIL across as many disciplines and subject areas as possible, helping to bring to life the University’s commitment to providing inclusive global study opportunities to as many students as possible. I am dedicated to supporting colleagues to provide as many students as possible with the opportunity to learn collaboratively with their peers overseas during their time at Leeds, believing that such globally-engaged learning not only helps foster students’ global citizenship, but that it also helps develop key discipline-specific and transferrable skills which help them to prepare for life and work beyond graduation.

After organising and running the inaugural Building COIL capability in the UK and Ireland Symposium at Leeds in April 2025, I founded UNICOIL- The UK and Ireland COIL Network together with colleagues from other universities around the UK and Ireland with the goal of costering greater take-up of COIL by universities across both countries.

I also supervise PhD students with research projects in the field of Chinese or Japanese to English translation.

Recognising my achievements, I have been awarded:

Early Career Faculty Teaching Award in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Cultures (2021)

University of Leeds Early Career Teaching Award in 2022

University of Leeds Sustained Excellence Teaching Award in 2024

I am the AHC Faculty Academic Lead for Global Campus Experience and a fellow of the Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence.

Research groups and institutes

• Japanese
• Chinese
• Translation
• East Asian Studies
• Centre for Translation and Interpreting Studies