Steve Dept | International Test Commission (ITC)
2024-06-27
by Pisana Ferrari

Steve Dept, Founding Partner of cApStAn LQC, co-opted to serve a 4-year term on the ITC Council

At the International Test Commission’s (ITC) biennial conference, in Granada, ITC President-Elect Kadriye Ercikan (She/her/hers) will pick up the baton from President Stephen G. Sireci. cApStAn’s Founder Steve Dept (he/him/his) was just co-opted to serve a four-year term on the ITC Council. Steve looks forward to working with his peers, researchers and practitioners alike, to disseminate …

Read More
2024-01-05
by Pisana Ferrari

“cApStAn at a scale”, Jan Denys, CEO, and Steve Dept, Founding Partner

No comparative surveys without comparable data Twenty-four years ago, cApStAn started developing, testing, fine-tuning and implementing methods to ensure comparability between different language versions of tests and questionnaires. That was our core activity and it still is. Tests and questionnaires are measurement instruments. They measure knowledge, skills, attitudes, trends, or opinions. They link data points …

Read More
2023-12-19
by Pisana Ferrari

The PISA 2022 results are out! cApStAn is proud to have been a part of this important scientific endeavour

December 5 2023 marked the official launch of the PISA 2022 results. PISA is world’s most significant international large-scale education assessment. These results inform education policies and stakeholders across the globe. They allow benchmarking of education systems and enable participants to look at effective teaching practices. They also help identify investments in education that yield …

Read More
2023-12-18
by Pisana Ferrari

“Navigating the Seas of Linguistic Quality: A Chronicle of cApStAn’s 22-Year Odyssey” 

I am Andrea Ferrari, an Italian national, born in Peru. I was exposed to a multicultural environment from early on, living and studying in Canada, Italy, Australia, Greece, and Belgium. I earned a degree in Business Engineering from the Solvay Business School, Brussels, did a stint with a major multinational (Procter & Gamble) but switched …

Read More
2023-11-20
by Pisana Ferrari

“What it takes to build a boutique language solutions provider: a cApStAn founder nails it”

Founders of boutique language solution providers are often overrated and cApStAn is a case in point in this regard. I am Steve Dept, a linguist by training—though not a translator—and a polyglot, initially because my parents travelled a lot: before the end of secondary school, I had attended 14 schools in 4 different languages. While attending German …

Read More
2023-11-01
by Pisana Ferrari

“Navigating the Frontiers of DEI and AI: Insights from cApStAn’s 2023 I.C.E. Exchange Experience”

One of cApStAn’s teams is just back from Colorado Springs, USA, where they attended the 2023 Institute for Credentialing Excellence (I.C.E.) Exchange. Devasmita Ghosh (Business Development and Marketing Lead), Nela Manojlovic (Project Manager) and Founding Partner Steve Dept spent a full week there. One needs to begin with the venue. The Broadmoor is a mythical …

Read More
2023-10-09
by Pisana Ferrari

I.C.E. Exchange coming up soon! Visit us at booth #229

If you are attending the I.C.E. Exchange 2023 in Colorado Springs, USA, we shall be delighted to welcome you at our booth (# 229) for a chat with cApStAn Founding Partner and Head of Strategic Partnerships Steve Dept, Business Development and Marketing Lead Devasmita Ghosh, and Project Manager Nela Manojlovic. For over two decades, cApStAn has been involved in translation …

Read More
2023-10-02
by Pisana Ferrari

“AI and DEI Take Centre Stage at E-ATP 2023: Insights from cApStAn LQC”

This year the E-ATP 2023 Annual Conference was held in Vienna from September 20 to 22. At cApStAn, we have never missed the E-ATP conferences since 2015 in Dublin, and we are very proud to be one of the Silver Sponsors of this year’s edition. We were represented in Vienna by Founding Partner and Head …

Read More
2023-07-31
by Pisana Ferrari

cApStAn LQC Founding Partner Steve Dept and cApStAn Inc Managing Director Musab Hayatli at ESRA Conference in July

cApStAn Founding Partner Steve Dept, from the company’s headquarters in Belgium, and Musab Hayatli, Managing Director of cApStAn Inc, USA are just back from the Biennial ESRA Conference in Milan (July 17-21, 2023) where they were both presenters. As Steve comments: “An impressive conference venue on the Bicocca university campus, insightful sessions, great connections made. …

Read More
2023-07-31
by Pisana Ferrari

AI in Test Localisation: Augment, Replace, or Preserve Humans? Steve Dept at E-ATP 2023 Conference in Vienna, September 20

The 2023 edition of the European Chapter of the Association of Test Publishers (E-ATP) annual conference is taking place in Vienna, Austria, on September 20-22. We at cApStAn are delighted that our Founding Partner Steve Dept has been invited to present during one of the sessions on September 20 at 14:15. His presentation is titled …

Read More
2023-06-28
by Pisana Ferrari

Multilingual Skills Assessment Translation Series, Episode 5: Disentangling Proficiency in required Skills from Proficiency in Language

This is the 5th and final issue in our “Multilingual Skills Assessment Translation series”. The primary objective of this series is to provide a comprehensive illustration of the complexities inherent in test translation. By doing so, we aim to underscore the immense value derived from establishing a robust linguistic quality assurance design. This episode takes a closer look …

Read More
2023-06-13
by Pisana Ferrari

Multilingual Skills Assessment Translation Series, Episode 3: Empowering Translators with Translation Technology and Support

Welcome to the third episode of our “Multilingual Skills Assessment Translation Series”. The primary objective of this series is to provide a comprehensive illustration of the complexities inherent in test translation. By doing so, we aim to underscore the immense value derived from establishing a robust linguistic quality assurance design. In this episode our translation …

Read More