News

SCIT holds events for Russian language interpreters under the auspices of UNESCO

6 June 2025|

In the first week of June international organizations working under the auspices of the United Nations hold annual events dedicated to the Russian Language Day, which is celebrated on June 6, the birthday of Alexander Pushkin. Russian Delegation to UNESCO initiated the second seminar at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, which was prepared by experts from the St. Petersburg School of Conference Interpreting and Translation specifically for language specialists with the Russian language from international organizations and teachers of the Russian language living abroad. The topic chosen for the discussion is Russian verbal culture as a source of humor in modern Russian socio–political discourse. The topic sparked the keen interest of the participants, since  humor based on the linguistic culture of a native speaker causes great difficulty and may become a source of misunderstanding. The examples were taken from recent publications and speeches by officials which allowed the participants to immerse in the cultural context of modern Russia, expand their vocabulary in the difficult-to-interpret sphere of humor, sayings, various phraseological units and cultural references. The detailed discussion of the examples will surely contribute to a more accurate understanding of the meanings inherent in the utterances.

The events of the Russian Language Day events also included a seminar on Trends in the development of the Modern Russian Language, which focused on the lexical innovations in the Russian language at the present stage, including borrowings and the use of precedent vocabulary in public discourse.

The seminars were prepared and conducted by the SCIT Director Angelique Antonova, and the SCIT trainer Zhanna Shuklina. The seminar participants highly appreciated the events and especially noted the choice of topics that are not only interesting, but also relevant for interpreters, translators and teachers working with the Russian language.

SCIT President Irina Alexeeva visits NARFU

29 May 2025|

On May 27 and 28, Irina Alekseeva, Honorary President of the St. Petersburg School of Conference Interpreting and Translation made a successful visit to Arkhangelsk to the Northern (Arctic) Federal University (NARFU) named after M. V. Lomonosov. She is no stranger to this university as , she had been actively involved in the making of the T&I education there for many years.

Irina Alekseeva had a conversation with the NARFU students, among whom most were senior students considering a T&I career. She spoke about the Herzen pedagogical translation tradition, about the challenges today’s interpreters and translators, and, of course, shared with would-be language specialists the experience of the St. Petersburg School of Conference Interpreting and Translation. Also, at the meeting of Irina Alekseeva and T&I trainers the participants enjoyed an open conversation about the training of top-notch interpreters and translators in modern conditions.

We would like to express our gratitude to Alexander Polikarpov, Head of the Department of Translation and Applied Linguistics at the Lomonosov NARFU, for the warm welcome and productive cooperation!

SCIT takes part in the CIUTI General Assembly

23 May 2025|

On May 22 and 23, 2025, the annual General Assembly of CIUTI (Permanent International Conference of University Translation Programs) was held at the Pontifical University of Comillas in Madrid. Herzen University is well known in the world for the quality of its T&I training programs and is a respected and active member of the consortium. SCIT Director Angelique Antonova took part in the work of the General Assembly.

The participants reported about the work for the 2024-2025 academic year, paying special attention to the activities of the Asia-Pacific Branch to expand the regional members network. Representatives of the universities also discussed the results of the recruitments for T&I specialties in previous years, and it was decided to organize a competition of motivational video projects among students of partner universities. Taking into account the rapidly changing professional landscape, it was decided to organize a series of podcasts on the use of AI in language mediation and dedicate the next CIUTI conference to a detailed examination of the impact of AI on the profession and T&I training. It is in this area that CIUTI plans to establish close cooperation with AIIC (the International Association of Conference Interpreters), since the practicing interpreters and translators can share their experience of using the latest technical innovations in their work and offer effective learning models. A separate report was devoted to judicial translation and the possibilities of AI in interpreting court sessions.

At the meeting of the General Assembly members  with representatives of international organizations, Juan Carlos Jimenez, Director General of the EP Directorate of Logistics and Conference Interpreting introduced the participants to the results of a recent study conducted in Europe. The study concerned the accuracy of translation at conferences, and one of its unexpected results was the discovery that the more source data an artificial intelligence receives to complete a task, the worse the translation result. H.С. Jimenez was supported by Silvia Kadeni Amisi, president of AIIC, who agreed that the future of the translation profession looked promising, because the machine does not have such capabilities. She has developed analytical and synthetic skills that would allow her to quickly and effectively find solutions to complex translation tasks in a conference setting.

Among the organizational issues considered by the General Assembly was the award of academic mobility grants and the annual CIUTI Award for research projects.

SCIT takes part in CIUTI conference

22 May 2025|

On May 20 and 21, 2025, SCIT Director Angelque Antonova participated in the CIUTI conference (Conférence internationale permanente d’instituts universitaires de traducteurs et interprètes) at the Pontifical University of Comillas, Madrid.

CIUTI is one of the oldest university associations uniting time-tested translation university programs with a recognized reputation in the world. The 2025 conference on “Language Mediation in Flux: Assessing the Impact of Generative AI” brought together T&I professionals and T&I teachers to discuss the impact of generative artificial intelligence and language technologies on the profession. The forum became a venue for the interdisciplinary dialogue between the representatives of CIUTI member universities, where they were able to discuss a variety of viewpoints, and identify the latest trends in the development of the T&I industry. The participants analyzed and discussed the evolving T&I landscape, focusing on the integration of AI into the job practice and the teaching process. Specifically, the participants focused on the AI models and mechanisms in the T&I industry, new professional competencies of T&I graduates, ethical aspects of AI, and many more issues.

SCIT Director Angelque Antonova made a presentation on T&I training. She noted that modern educational programs should train a universal translator with a wide range of professional skills and abilities, which will enable graduates able to find their place in the continuously changing professional world.

“At Herzen University, we have been training specialists who can do translation and interpreting for 17 years. This allows our graduates to survive in a competitive environment. In many international organizations such specialization in translation and interpreting is a job requirement today.”

It was especially gratifying  that Angelique Antonova’s report aroused great interest not only among colleagues from the CIUTI universities, but also among the Comillias university teachers of Russian, who came to listen to her presentation though not being the conference participants.

 

Herzen Professors in China

20 May 2025|

The visit of the Herzen University delegation to Xi’an (China), to the Shaanxi Pedagogical University, is a great success. The delegation includes Professor Yulia Komarova, Head of the Department of Intensive Foreign Language Teaching, and Irina Alekseeva, Professor of the Department of Translation. For several days they have been giving lectures to the university students of Russian – future teachers and translators. Great interest was aroused by I. Alekseeva’s story about the St. Petersburg  School of Conference Interpreting and Translation, of which she is the honorary president.

In addition to the lectures, the guests from Herzen University held a number of consultations on practical issues of translation studies and intensive methods of teaching a foreign language. The meeting of the delegation with the director of the Institute, Liu Cheng-Guo, was productive. The parties outlined several aspects of cooperation in the scientific and educational fields: joint collections of scientific articles, scientific consultations, workshops and round tables on didactic practice and literary translation. The main focus was on strengthening the position of the Russian language in China and promoting effective Russian educational practices.

UNOV Internship Is Over

12 May 2025|

From May 5 to May 10, two SCIT students completed a one-week internship at the UN Office in Vienna. These days, the 64th session of the Legal Subcommittee of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was held, during which the participants discussed various issues pertaining to the application of the United Nations treaties on outer space, definition and delimitation of outer space and legal aspects of activities related to space resources . The SCIT students could practice their interpretation skills during these sessions in a silent booth. In addition to interpretation, there were classes with translators from the translation section, and one of the mentors was Dmitry Osadchuk, a 2011 SCIT graduate. The days were full of work, new acquaintances and impressions, for which we thank all the staff of the Russian language sections at the UN Office in Vienna.

We hope that the practice of short-term internships will continue, and in the summer graduates will have an internship at the UN Office in Geneva.

Master-classes with UNHQ Interpreters

23 April 2025|

In April, the SCIT students participated in weekly workshops held by UNHQ staff interpreters  in New York. During three sessions, the participants managed to interpret and discuss speeches from the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Executive Board of UNICEF. The master classes were conducted by Inga Khramkova, Kristina Lugovina and Anna Brechalova, UN staff translators and SCIT graduates. We also thank interpreter Viktor Abramov for taking part in the master classes. According to the trainers, the students worked very actively and showed a good level of training.

Master classes with UN interpreters will continue in May. We wish them further success!

Meeting translators in Chuvashia

23 April 2025|

On 23 April, Professor Irina Alekseeva, SCIT President,  spoke at the opening of the interregional festival “Through the Book to Peace among Peoples” at the National Library of the Chuvash Republic. She held a round table “Problems of literary translation from the languages of Russia and the world”, which was attended by writers and translators from Chuvashia and neighboring regions, as well as guests from Moscow. Also, within the framework of the 4th Volga Translation School “Down the Volga” Irina Alekseeva met with students of the Chuvash State Pedagogical University and together with colleagues held a master class on translation. An informal conversation  with young translators and students took place where the participants discussed the future of the profession and the possibility of professional development at SCIT in Herzen University.

SCIT holds seminar for Chinese specialists

22 April 2025|

On 22 April SCIT held a seminar Russian Culture in Modern Russian Socio-Political Discourse. It was prepared especially for Russian language specialists, teachers and translators, who live and work in China.  Zhanna Shuklina, SCIT lecturer, used modern Russian media texts and interviews with political leaders of Russia and China to illustrate the specificity of modern Russian socio-political discourse and explain to her Chinese colleagues the most common cultural realities used in the modern Russian media.

SCIT Director Angelique Antonova spoke to the seminar participants about the joint projects of Herzen University and SCIT with Chinese partners.

We hope that such a cultural and educational dialogue between our countries will continue.

MFA Official visits SCIT

17 April 2025|

On April 16, SCIT hosted Vadim Nikolaevich Nikitin, Deputy Director of the Linguistic Support Department, Russian MFA. The purpose of the visit is to get to know this year’s students, to evaluate the learning progress and assess their professional skills. To meet this purpose, the SCIT teachers prepared a mock conference on the use of technology in modern life, where each student could act as an interpreter from one or two languages. V. Nikitin positively assessed the students’ level and made valuable comments on the interpreter’s work. Vadim Nikolaevich also took questions from the SCIt students about his work at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The visits of MFA representatives to SCIT are traditional, as they allow to plan for the future in accordance with the Linguistic Support Department staffinig needs. Overall, 20 SCIT graduates worked or are still working in the Russian MFA.