This article addresses translation and technical writing. With regard to terminology, the term “technical communication” is used, because it better reflects the multidimensionality of the activities performed by technical communication professionals during the documentation process (see Grice 1997, also Schriver 1997: 6−11). The origins for this research interest lie in a project at the University of Tampere (1997) which studied the demand and interest in Finnish industry to set up technical communication training. Indeed, at the time there was a great demand for such training. In setting up a program1 under a department of Translation Studies, many difficult questions had to be considered. These were related to the definitions of technical communication, its relationship to Translation Studies, the competence requirements of technical communicators, and the way in which academia should respond to those requirements. In this article, the author reflects upon her experiences as head of the program and makes observations on some of the viewpoints that have been put forward on the relationship between translation and technical communication.