On 6 and 7 of April the University of Johannes Guttenberg in Mainz – an international partner of Herzen University – held a conference which brought together specialists in Slavonic, Romance and Germanic studies. Herzen university was represented by Irina Alexeeva, SCIT director. Her presentation on Russian as a mediator language in teaching translation and interpretation with Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Turkmen languages drew a wide response from the audience. Within the frame of the cooperation agreement between SCIT and Johannes Guttenberg university the partners also are planning to  organize a series of virtual T&I conferences.