Over the past twenty-five years, Radboud in'to Languages has grown from a three-person language agency into a centre of expertise with 150 employees. The anniversary will be celebrated with the appointment of a professor of Academic Communication and a special competition.

Twenty-five years ago, Liesbet Korebrits could never have envisaged the role the university language centre would play on the Nijmegen campus. ‘We started with three people and were given a hundred thousand guilders from the Executive Board to get things going.’ Terms like ‘internationalisation’ and ‘bilingual’ had yet to enter the scene.

The current situation for Radboud in’to Languages, the present-day name of the agency that Korebrits has run for the past fourteen years, couldn’t be more different. The language and communication centre welcomes some five thousand course participants each year, has 150 employees and offers courses in eighteen languages (not including the upcoming addition of Bahasa Indonesia). The centre’s turnover is in the millions.

Business park

The centre’s success is currently not reflected by its location: In’to Languages relocated last week to a temporary site at the University Business Centre behind the Mercator building. The outlook, however, is bright. The impressive plans include a new office on the renovated ground floor of the Erasmus building. ‘There’s nothing wrong with our current location’, says Korebrits, ‘but it does make it difficult for students and staff to stop by since it’s a little isolated.’

The new location should change this. ‘We want to create a space where students and staff can stop by if they have questions or concerns. For instance, if they need a short text translation, feedback on a presentation or subtitles under a video clip.’

In’to Languages deliberately chose to offer an increasingly broad range of specific services. ‘We used to offer more standardised language courses. These days, however, we are focusing on tailoring our services. For example, the German course we offer to mayors in the border region can’t be the same as the one we offer police officers and lecturers.’

In’to also helps refugees prepare for the Dutch labour market. Hundreds of refugees learn their first Dutch words at In’to Languages. ‘We’re also seeing increasing interest in Arabic courses, as many volunteers want to be able to express themselves in this language as well’, explains Korebrits.

Expertise centre

In’to Languages has become so much more than a language agency. In fact, it refers to itself as an expertise centre for language and communication. Korebrits stresses the growing importance of public communication for researchers. ‘Communication skills have gone from a plus to a must.’

A professor newly appointed to a personal chair, who will focus on academic communication, will further strengthen In’to Languages’ reputation as an expertise centre this year. Korebrits cannot reveal the professor’s name at this point. ‘What I can say is that he will deliver the keynote speech at our anniversary celebration in November.’