The purpose of this paper is to assess the level of digital competences of our students at the European Master’s Degree in Translation Studies and Terminology at the Applied Modern Languages Department of the Faculty of Letters in Cluj, and describe how it influences the different computer-based translation activities we carry out in our programmes. Consequently, we handed out a survey to all students and asked them to complete it, in order to analyse the results and discover their digital competences and the main challenges implied within the translation process.

Nowadays, the continuous demands for translators in our information-based society include the knowledge of translation content, strategies and techniques, as well as the skills to use the many computing tools. Whether they work in an international institution, a multinational company, a translation agency, or as a freelance, firstly, the professional translators are supposed to be specialist linguists with competence and capacity to produce a translation that is as close to the source text as possible and meets the necessary linguistic, pragmatic, textual and cultural conventions of the target text; secondly, they are expected to use the software tools (CAT) to enhance their efficiency and speed in the commercial job market. It is therefore important to train them in ICTs, especially CAT. We tend to consider our digital era students advanced computer users and able to deal with different ICT tools during their learning process. However, although they have developed a great ability to work with technology, using the Internet and social networks, it does not necessarily mean that all of them will become advanced users.

On the other hand, society wants universities to train students at an advanced level and it would be unthinkable to certify them without assessing the linguistic, cultural and professional skills they need to manage themselves in the global world. Even though they already have the instrumental basics on technologies and digitalization, they must also acquire the critical and comprehensive knowledge which will ensure a better usage of their dynamic competences.

Keywords: CAT, digital competences, translation studies.