Historical notes

Mikael was named to honour Mikael Agricola (c. 1510–1557), the famous Bible translator, humanist and father of written Finnish. The journal was founded in 2007 to serve as the publication channel for the papers of the KäTu Symposia on Translation and Interpreting Studies. Originally, the journal was known as MikaEL; the spelling emphasised the fact that the journal was only published electronically, which was rare at the time.

The KäTu Symposia on Translation and Interpreting Studies and Mikael came into being because there was a demand in Finland for a conference and a conference publication centred on translation and interpreting research. Organised since 2003, the KäTu Symposia remain the only annual conference in Finland that focuses on translation and interpreting research. Similarly, Mikael is the only annually published journal of Translation Studies in Finland. 

Mikael incorporated the peer-reviewing process in 2016 (Volume 9). In 2018, Mikael was granted the official status (Level 1) of an academic publication by the Finnish Publication Forum and in 2019 the journal gained the corresponding status (Level 1) in The Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers.

Throughout its history, Mikael has been a non-profit open-access journal. In 2021, Mikael became a foundational member of the Council of Editors of Translation and Interpreting Studies for Open Science.

Open access publication has been facilitated by Mikael’s publisher, The Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters (SKTL). From 2007 to 2023, the association provided the platform for the volumes 1 through 16, and it continues to manage publication agreements and other legal aspects. The SKTL Teachers’ and Researchers’ Section is a member of The Federation of Finnish Learned Societies.