Internationalization Language Services

As an internal language service, the SDI is the next best thing to having your own translator. We offer end-to-end support for your translation projects. You know in advance what the costs will be and when you will receive the English version of your documents. We work with a handpicked pool of experienced university translators to offer you high-quality translations at a fair price.

We work with the latest computer-aided translation software to ensure consistency and quality, as well as quicker turn-around times and lower costs. What's more, our freelance translators work within the scope of a master contract, meaning you need not bother with the tender process because we already have.

It all begins with your translation request. After examining your documents, we send you an estimate of the costs and a delivery date. Once you accept the offer, the SDI takes care of the rest: choosing the right translator from our pool, monitoring progress and fielding questions, and performing quality assessment before delivering your document to you. After delivery, you have the opportunity to review your text and ask questions or request revisions before being invoiced.

To submit a translation request, we ask that you use our specially designed request form. It provides us with all the information we need to get the ball rolling, and you can even upload your German-language documents and any relevant reference material with the request.

The SDI has entered into a general contract with a handpicked pool of freelance translators and one translation agency that both eliminates the tender process for you and allows us to respond quickly and effectively to meet even your large-scale translation needs. The SDI employs translation software that makes a database of our prior translations and TUM-specific terminology available to our translators, raising consistency and quality, while the internal coordinator's knowledge of TUM and its internal processes allows us to get as close as we can to an in-house service as possible. As seasoned professionals and signatories to the master contract, our freelance translators respect and ensure the confidentiality of your data and documents.

As a rule, our service encompasses documents concerning the student life cycle, quality management, and communication materials, such as degree-program descriptions, regulations (FPSOs) and documentations, or websites, brochures and flyers, as well as other texts related to study and teaching at TUM.

While we do not coordinate the translation of specialist literature and scholarly publications, we can refer you to qualified translators or recommend appropriate resources. We also encourage TUM academic staff to use the English Coaching services of the TUM Language Center to improve and develop their writing skills and build a sustainable foundation for their independent work with English texts. 

If you need English documents for administrative processes (Human Resources, Finance, Real Estate Management, the Library, etc.), we refer you to the Bavarian Office for University Administrative Documents in English (BaySeV), established by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts. There you will find templates for a broad range of administrative documents, as well as a contact form, if you do not find what you need.

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