On March 25, 2026, students from the Institute of Language and Translation Studies at the Academy of Applied Sciences in Racibórz took part in another translation workshop organized at the Rybnik Municipal Police Headquarters. This was the second workshop of its kind; the first took place in January 2025 and was very well received by both students and the officers themselves. This year’s meeting confirmed that the collaboration between the two institutions, which began at that time, brings tangible benefits and has the potential to become a permanent feature of the practical training of future translators.
Workshop Overview
The focus of the program was a simulation of the questioning of a witness to a traffic accident, led with the assistance of a sworn translator. The questioning was conducted by the Assistant Inspector Piotr Boruta from the Criminal Division of the Rybnik Municipal Police Headquarters; the role of the witness who did not speak Polish was played by Lena Kaczorowska, a third-year philology student; and the interpretation was provided by Dr. Daniel Vogel, a professor at the University and a certified English interpreter.
The Importance of Workshops for Students and the Police
Workshops of this kind provide an exceptionally valuable experience for all parties involved. For students of philology at the University of Racibórz, it is a practical demonstration of the realities of a translator’s work in collaboration with law enforcement agencies—an encounter with authentic interrogation procedures, the specific register of legal language, and the dynamics of a real-life communication situation that no textbook or academic exercise can fully capture.
For the Rybnik Municipal Police Department, on the other hand, organizing such meetings is much more than a gesture of goodwill toward the academic community. In this way, the police force fulfills an important educational role, builds a positive image within the local community, and demonstrates that public service and the world of academia can complement and enrich one another. Such initiatives also help demystify the work of police officers and strengthen the bond between the institutions and the citizens they serve every day.
Summary and Outlook
We hope that this fruitful collaboration will continue and that future cohorts of students at the Institute of Languages and Translation Studies at ANS in Racibórz will have the opportunity to benefit from such valuable experiences.
