Ayla Rigouts Terryn
Assistant Professor of Translation Technology & AI
Université de Montréal, Département de linguistique et de traduction
Mila Quebec AI Institute, Associate Academic Member
IVADO Professor
FRQ-IVADO Research Chair (2026-2031)
At the Crossroads of Languages and AI: Towards a Synergy Between Language Expertise and Computational Innovation
Research center affiliations: Observatoire de Linguistique Sens-Texte (OLST) | Centre de Recherche Interuniversitaire sur les Humanités Numériques (CRIHN)
I am an Assistant Professor at the Université de Montréal, where I focus on natural language processing (NLP) and translation technology. My research explores NLP in multilingual and non-English contexts (including low-resource scenarios), nuanced analysis and evaluation of large language models, and translation technology for domain-specific texts and terminology.
Recent News & Highlights
I was awarded funding from IVADO's Regroupement 3 (Natural Language Processing) for a collaborative project with Prof. Justin Royer on NLP for the extremely low-resource Mayan language: Chuj. This project is part of IVADO's Canada Excellence Research Fund Apogée initiative to develop robust, reasoning, and responsible AI (IAR³). This interdisciplinary research aims to get the very most out of data collection efforts, making sure the collected data can be used both for language documentation research and as a starting point for the development of NLP resources and tools.
I was honoured to be awarded one of the FRQ-IVADO Research Chairs (2026-2031): "At the Crossroads of Languages and AI: Towards a Synergy Between Language Expertise and Computational Innovation".
Was invited to present on AI and multilingualism at the closing event of the Month of Multilingualism at the EU Council.
Presented on AI and terminology at the ITF, including both a plenary talk and interactive workshop at for terminologists from all EU institutions.
Presented my latest work on the cultural values exhibited by AI and the impact of prompt and prompt langauge at Mila's NLP reading group.
Awarded a Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Nature et Technologies (FRQNT) research support grant for new academics (2025-2027) for the project "Translation and Contamination: Evaluation of the Translation Capabilities and English Bias in Large Language Models." This research will systematically investigate how English bias manifests in large language models and impacts their translation capabilities.
Started my position as Assistant Professor in Translation Technology & AI at UdeM, with affiliations at Mila, IVADO, OLST, and CRIHN
Research
Research Interests
- NLP methodologies for low-resource scenarios, including low-resource languages and domain-specific settings
- Nuanced evaluation and analysis of AI in multilingual and non-English settings, integrating linguistic and computational expertise
- Systematic study of linguistic and cultural bias in AI systems
- Computational terminology and translation technology in domain-specific contexts
View All Publications on Google Scholar
Research Resources
ACTER Dataset
The Annotated Corpora for Term Extraction Research (ACTER) is a manually annotated dataset for automatic term extraction. It consists of 12 specialised corpora across 4 domains (corruption, dressage, heart failure, wind energy) and 3 languages (English, French, Dutch), with over 100,000 manual annotations. ACTER has become a reference dataset for term extraction research in the NLP community and was the basis for the TermEval shared task I organised in 2020.
D-Terminer Demo
An online demonstration of automatic term extraction research, showcasing both monolingual and bilingual terminology extraction capabilities.
Current Projects
FRQ-IVADO Research Chair (2026-2031)
At the Crossroads of Languages and AI: Towards a Synergy Between Language Expertise and Computational Innovation
A five-year research program exploring the intersection of linguistic expertise and computational innovation in AI systems, with a focus on multilingual NLP and responsible AI development.
Translation and Contamination (2025-2027)
Evaluation of the Translation Capabilities and English Bias in Large Language Models
Funded by Fonds de Recherche du Québec - Nature et Technologies. Investigating how English bias manifests in large language models and impacts their translation capabilities, particularly for French and other non-English languages.
PoS Tagging and Lemmatisation for Chuj (2025-2026)
In collaboration with Prof. Justin Royer. Funded by IVADO Regroupement 3 (NLP). Developing NLP tools for Chuj, an understudied Mayan language, addressing critical challenges in low-resource language processing.
Past Projects
EXTRACT: Extracting Terminology from Comparable Texts (2017-2021)
FWO PhD Fellowship. Created the ACTER dataset and developed supervised machine learning methodologies for automatic term extraction, including the HAMLET (Hybrid Adaptable Machine Learning approach to Extract Terminology) system.
SCATE: Smart Computer-Aided Translation Environment (2015-2017)
FWO-SBO project. Work package on automatic term extraction, focusing on data creation for monolingual and multilingual terminology extraction to enhance translation tools.
Medical Terminology and Translation (2018-2020)
Collaboration with medical organisations ebpracticenet and Iscientia. Investigated optimal translation and post-editing procedures for medical guidelines, comparing different translator profiles (language specialists vs. domain specialists). Developed and validated multilingual automatic term extraction methods to improve search functionality on medical websites. Research also explored corpus design for medical terminology extraction, comparing large web corpora with smaller focused corpora.
Teaching
My courses blend theoretical foundations with practical applications, preparing students for the evolving landscape of translation technology and computational linguistics.
Current Courses at UdeM (2024-present)
Previous Courses at KU Leuven (2022-2024)
Previous Courses at Ghent University (2016-2022)
Other
Selected Guest Lectures & Workshops
Information for Prospective Students
I'm Recruiting!
PhD Positions Available for September 2026
I am building a new research team and have funding available for qualified PhD candidates through my FRQ-IVADO Research Chair and other grants. I currently have two specific positions I'm actively recruiting for (detailed below), but I welcome applications from strong candidates whose research interests align with my work. Positions offer:
- Competitive stipend for 4-5 years
- Interdisciplinary environment at the intersection of translation and linguistics (at UdeM) and AI (at Mila and IVADO)
- Access to computing resources
- Collaborative supervision model: I always look for co-supervisors with complementary expertise, ensuring diverse expertise and broader research networks
- Travel funding for conferences and research visits
Postdoctoral researchers and visiting scholars: I also welcome applications from postdocs seeking collaborative research opportunities and visiting scholars interested in research stays. Funding arrangements can be discussed on a case-by-case basis.
Current PhD Opportunities
I am currently recruiting for two specific PhD positions:
Position 1: NLP for Language Documentation (Chuj)
Co-supervision: Prof. Dr Justin Royer
This project focuses on developing NLP tools to support the documentation of Chuj, a Mayan language with limited digital resources. I am looking for someone genuinely interested in very low-resource languages who has basic programming skills (Python, working with data) and the motivation to develop these further—you don't need to be a machine learning expert yet. You will work closely with linguists who specialise in this language and contribute to preserving linguistic diversity, so strong interdisciplinary communication skills are essential.
Position 2: Machine Translation with LLMs for Domain-Specific Texts
Potential co-supervision: Dr Gabriel Bernier-Colborne
This project will combine user studies, evaluation, and development of LLM-based translation systems for specialised texts (e.g., legal, medical, technical documents) containing domain-specific terminology. Ideally, I am looking for someone interested in translation studies, though computer science is also an option. What matters most is that you have both insight into translation (either through study or practice) and solid technical skills. This project involves collaborations with government and industry partners, offering real-world impact alongside academic research.
Research Opportunities
I am building a dynamic, interdisciplinary research team, so motivated students and postdocs interested in any of the following themes are also welcome to apply:
- Linguistic and computational evaluation of large language models
- NLP for low-resource languages
- Machine translation of domain-specific texts
- Cultural and linguistic bias in AI systems
- Multilingual knowledge representation in neural models
Note: Some of these themes (e.g., computational terminology, LLM evaluation) represent past and ongoing projects on which I have established expertise, whilst others (e.g., NLP for very low-resource languages) represent research interests and ambitions to expand my expertise. As an early-career researcher, this is one of my motivations for prioritising co-supervision, to provide students with diverse complementary expertise.
What I Look For
- Background: Strong foundation in computational linguistics, NLP, computer science, or translation studies
- Technical skills: Programming experience (Python preferred), familiarity with machine learning concepts
- Language skills: Proficiency in English and French; additional languages are an asset
- Research mindset: Curiosity, critical thinking, and enthusiasm for interdisciplinary research
- Research focus: Genuine interest in language as a central component of your research—if you're primarily interested in hardcore machine learning or the most technical aspects of AI without a language focus, I may not be the right supervisor for you
Before You Apply: Important Information
About my supervision approach:
- I am an applied linguist by training who has developed computational expertise. My research requires strong interdisciplinary skills combining linguistic knowledge with technical competence.
- I actively seek co-supervisors with complementary expertise for all PhD students to ensure you receive diverse perspectives and broader research networks.
- I do not accept remote supervision: all students must be based in Montréal.
About applications:
- I receive many applications and can only respond to those that clearly align with my research programme. Please carefully review my research interests and explain the connection in your application.
- Generic applications that could be sent to any supervisor will not receive a response.
About funding:
- I only accept as many PhD students as I can fund (you do not need to have secured funding before applying). I am committed to ensuring all accepted students have full financial support.
- All students will be expected to apply for external funding opportunities (with my full support) to supplement their funding and enhance their CV.
- I am not currently funding MA students for thesis supervision. Task-specific research assistant positions are occasionally available and posted through UdeM's internal networks.
Application Process & Timeline
For PhD applicants:
All PhD applicants must apply through the Mila application process: https://mila.quebec/en/prospective-students-and-postdocs/research-programs/request-supervisor between October 15th and December 1st, to start in September 2026. If you are accepted there, you can then apply to one of three programmes at UdeM (with almost guaranteed success):
- Doctoral programme in Linguistics: Starting date September; French level B2 required
- Doctoral programme in Translation: Starting date September; French level B2 required
- Doctoral programme in Computer Science: Starting date September or January; no French required (though encouraged)
Regardless of the programme, all students will be affiliated with Mila as well as UdeM.
Timeline:
- Application deadline: December 2025
- Initial contact with shortlisted candidates: Early January 2026
- Final decisions: February 2026
- Start date: September 2026 (January 2027 also possible for Computer Science programme)
Postdocs and visiting scholars should send me the following documents by email:
- Your CV
- A brief personal statement explaining your research interests and proposed collaboration
- Contact information for references (if available)
Current Students
Veronika Smilga (PhD, starting Jan 2026)
Co-supervised with Prof. Eva Portelance (HEC Montréal)
Topic: Linguistic and computational evaluation and analysis of large language models
Past Students
PhD
Victor De Marez (2023-2024, co-supervised with Prof. Dr Tim Van de Cruys)
Topic: Bilingual lexicon induction as a probing task to explore cross-lingual lexico-semantic knowledge in language models
Note: Due to my emigration to Montréal, I had to discontinue my supervision. Victor is continuing his PhD at the University of Antwerp under supervision of Prof. Dr Walter Daelemans.
MA Theses
- Rune Devreker (2024): Evaluation of EN-NL translation quality of ChatGPT vs DeepL for legal texts
- Jakob Michiels (2023, research internship): Linguistic information for sequential automatic term extraction
- Gilles Floréal (2021, co-supervised): Automatic term extraction
- Anneleen Dill (2021, research internship): Multilingual automatic term extraction from comparable corpora
- Kim Steyaert (2019, research internship): Monolingual term extraction features to link cross-lingual equivalents
BA Papers
- Noémie Joos (2024): Comparison and evaluation of translation capabilities of ChatGPT vs DeepL
- Laura Tuytschaever (2019): Automatic term extraction with supervised machine learning
- Yesim Dumont (2018): On the nature of terms and term annotation
- Maxime Van Belle (2018): Quantitative research of automatic term extraction
Public Engagement
I regularly give presentations and interviews about language technology and AI for various audiences, from policymakers and professionals to educators and the general public. I try to keep the news section updated with recent engagements.
Resources
In collaboration with VAIA (Flemish AI Academy), I created five knowledge clips about generative AI and language technology, which are freely available (in Dutch, with English subtitles) on YouTube. These videos provide accessible explanations of AI concepts for professional and educational contexts.
Policy & Guidelines
- Member of IVADO Board of Directors, 2025-present: Currently serving as a representative on IVADO's Board of Directors.
- AI and Education Committees, Université de Montréal (2024-present): Active member of three committees working on responsible AI integration in education: the university-wide Panel of Experts, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Committee, and the Community of Practice.
- ELRC (European Language Resource Coordination), 2016-2021: Served as Deputy Technical National Anchor Point for Belgium. Organised three national workshops to connect stakeholders and coordinated the collection of language resources (parallel corpora and term bases) to support EU translation technology development.
About
I studied applied linguistics and translation at the University of Antwerp (Dutch, French, German, English), graduating in 2014. During my Master's, I became interested in translation technology and wrote my thesis on automatic term extraction.
I worked as a research assistant at University of Antwerp (2014-2015) before joining Ghent University's Language and Translation Technology Team (LT³) in 2015. I completed my PhD there in 2021 under supervision of Els Lefever and Véronique Hoste, followed by a postdoctoral year.
I was an Assistant Professor at KU Leuven (2022-2024) before being invited to apply for a position in Montreal, where I had spent a 3-month research stay in 2018 collaborating with Patrick Drouin. I joined Université de Montréal as assistant professor in July 2024.
Academic Background
- PhD in Translation Studies, Ghent University (2021)
Supervisors: Prof. Dr Els Lefever & Prof. Dr Véronique Hoste - MA in Translation, University of Antwerp (2014, magna cum laude)
- BA in Applied Linguistics, Artesis University College (2013, magna cum laude)
Career Path
- Assistant Professor, Université de Montréal (2024-present)
- Assistant Professor, KU Leuven (2022-2024)
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Ghent University (2021-2022)
- PhD Researcher, Ghent University (2017-2021)
- Research Assistant, Ghent University & University of Antwerp (2014-2017)