News

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.

Meetings at UNOV language services

10 April 2025|

On 9 and 10 April 9 and 10, 2025, SCIT Director Angelique Antonova  had a meeting with the heads and staff of the UNOV Russian language services in Vienna. The partners confirmed the previously reached agreement to hold remote and face-to-face workshops for SCIT students by UN translators, and the participation of UN staff translators as observers at the SCIT aptitude tests and final examinations. A program of short-term internships and long-term internships was also discussed.

Marianna Matakova, Head of the UNOV Interpretation Section with the Conference Management Service in Vienna, assured that the practice of short-term internships in dumb booths for SCIT students will continue. As an illustration, this year two SCIT students have passed a competitive selection for a one-week internship and are preparing to go to Vienna in May.

Igor Solovyov, Head of the Russian booth at UNOV, praised the high professional level of SCIT graduates coming to Vienna for short-term contracts. Currently, three SCIT graduates are working on short-term interpreting contracts in Vienna.

Ahed Abdul, Head of the UNOV Conference Management Service in Vienna, also expressed satisfaction with the general level of training at SCIT, especially noting profesionalism and high motivation of Igor Shapovalov and Dmitry Osadchuk, SCIT graduates  and currently full-time UNOV translators.

SCIT takes paRT in the Eighth MoU Conference

8 April 2025|

On April 7 and 8, 2025, the Eighth MoU Conference took place in UNOV, Vienna. The conference was organized by the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management of the UN Secretariat, the UN Office in Vienna and the St. Joseph University of Beirut. The participants came together to discuss the results of cooperation between the United Nations and partner universities, as well as issues related to the tectonic changes taking place in the translation industry, and the need to adapt university curricula to these changes. The plenary session opened with a greeting from Movses Abelian, Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management. The participants were also greeted byAhed Sboul, Head of the UNOV Conference Management Service, and  Gina Abu Fadel Saad, Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Translation of St. Joseph University in Beirut.

The results of competitive language exams for positions in UN linguistic services were discussed at the conference. We were pleased to hear that SCIT takes a leading position among the MoU universities, and it ranks first among Russian universities in terms of the number of graduates who passed the challenging UN language exam. The conference participants exchanged views on the requirements the labor market imposes on language specialists today and the set of competencies university educational programs should develop in students. Special attention was paid to the impact of artificial intelligence on the profession and the use of new technological solutions in education.

SCIT was represented by Director Angelique Antonova, who made a presentation on Interpretation and Interpreter training of interpreters in the AI era. Participation in such a significant international gathering contributes to the promotion of Herzen University and SCIT in the international educational space and ensures that the level of training of translators meets the highest international standards.

Regions go ahead!

25 March 2025|

On 21 and 22 March 2025 Dostoevskiy Omsk State University hosted All-Russian research and practical conference Linguistics and Translation Today: Translating Regions!  SCIT President Prof. Irina Alexeeva was invited to speak at the opening plenary . Her presentation Literary Translation: Regions go ahead! was devoted to the analysis of the efforts put in organizing the effective interaction in training  literary translators.

Besides, Irina Alexeeva held a master-class Where to train for the international career in interpreting? for the students of Omsk State University where she presented St. Petersburg School of Conference Interpreting and Translation and spoke about the training process at SCIT. The master-class sparked interest among the participants.

Aptitude tests are over

19 March 2025|

On  18 March a 10-day long marathon of aptitude tests finally drew to a close. The distant format of the tests allowed for the participation of the candidates from all around Russia, and they didn’t even have to halt their work or studies. We are pleased that the graduates of the SCIT preparatory course showed good results, and those of them who ventured to try their luck now successfully passed all the tests and were recommended for study. The recommended for study candidates received recommendations from the SCIT examination board members to work on their foreign languages and Russian, follow the nes and expand the background knowledge. We express our sincere gratitude to Kirill Kasyanov, Head of the Russian booth at UNON, for his active participation in the work of the examination board as an observer. We hope that all selected candidates will come in September motivated and determined to reach new goals. Congratulations!

Internship programs for SCIT students and graduates

3 March 2025|

Our hearty congratulations to the SCIT students who have won places for a week-long internship with the Russian interpretation section at UNOV. Two people have successfully passed through the sieve of the selection process and are now getting ready for the May practice session in Vienna.  This internship will without doubt equip them with the detailed knowledge of the institutional workflow at UNOV, and we are sure that SCIT students will show their best and benefit enormously from this precious opportunity.

We are also happy for the SCIT graduate Alexandra Malakhova, who upon completion of the internship week at UNON in November 2024 moved to Geneva to join the WIPO staff on the long-term internship program.  Alexandra is working hard in Geneva boosting her qualifications and obtaining valuable experience of working for the international organization. We send our congratulations to Alexander Dolganov who successfully finished his internship with WMO in 2024.

We hope that summer months will offer more opportunities for internships as our students and graduate are eager to join staff translators and interpreters in international organizations to try out their newly acquired skills of institutional language mediation.

Guest from the Russian MFA in SCIT and Herzen university

27 February 2025|

On 27 February Herzen university welcomed Igor Khovaev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian  Ministry of Foreign Affaires. He visited Herzen university to give a lecture for students of the St. Petersburg Higher School of Translation, institutes of Foreign Languages, History and Social Sciences, and Philosophy. The lecture was devoted to the topic The new world order and specifics of modern diplomacy. Igor Khovaev is an experienced diplomat who represented Russia in many countries of the Asia-Pacific region for many years, and currently works as the Special Representative of the Russian Foreign Minister for settling the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Due to the nature of his professional duties, Igor Khovaev thoroughly understands the processes taking place in world politics now, and it was this vision that he shared with students of Herzen University.

В ходе визита Игоря Ховаева в Герценовский университет также состоялась его встреча с ректором Сергеем Тарасовым, в ходе которой стороны обсудили возможные направления сотрудничества между РГПУ им. А.И. Герцена и МИД России в образовательной сфере. Для высокого гостя также провели экскурсию по Фундаментальной библиотеке имени императрицы Марии Федоровны и Санкт-Петербургской высшей школе перевода.

During his visit to Herzen University, Igor Khovaev also had a productive talk with Rector Sergey Tarasov, during which the parties discussed possible areas of cooperation between the Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the educational field. The distinguished guest was also given a guided tour of the Empress Maria Feodorovna Fundamental Library and the St. Petersburg School of Conference Interpreting and Translation.

Meetings in the Russian MFA

20 February 2025|

On 20 of February a Herzen University delegation consisting of Rector Sergey Tarasov, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation and Internationalization Sergey Sheremet and Director of the St. Petersburg  School of Conference Interpreting and Translation Angelique Antonova paid a visit to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  At the meeting with Alexander Alimov, Director of the Department for Multilateral Humanitarian Cooperation and Cultural Relations, the parties discussed the prospects of cooperation in the extensive program of promotion of the Russian language and culture abroad carried out by this department. SCIT Director Angelika Antonova also spoke in detail about the university’s participation in the international celebration of Russian Language Day, celebrated annually on June 6, and about the regularly organized seminars of the professional upgrading for translators of international organizations working with the Russian language. Alexander Alimov noted that the format of such seminars developed by SCIT is of great interest for teachers of the Russian language abroad. The Russian MFA is ready to support and develop this project, and the SCIT staff , together with the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to UNESCO, are actively working to organize a new seminar “Russian Verbal Culture as a source of Humor in modern Russian public Discourse” in June 2025. Moreover, colleagues from the Asia-Pacific region also showed interest in the seminars, and the Russian MFA voiced a request to organize similar seminars on the Russian socio-political discourse for translators and teachers of the Russian language in China.

The guests from St. Petersburg also had a meeting with Sergey Gritsai, Director of the Linguistic Support Department in the Russian MFA, where prospects for cooperation between the department and the university were discussed. Rector Sergey Tarasov invited Sergey Gritsai to attend the diploma awarding ceremony for the SCIT graduates in June 2025, and also spoke about regular master classes, both in-person and remote,  held by the Linguistic Support Department specialists for the SCIT students. There are many SCIT graduates among these specialists, as 20 SCIT graduates have worked or are currently working at the Russian MFA. During the conversation, the parties agreed that in order to increase the effectiveness of training, veterans of the MFA  translation service should also be involved in giving master classes. We hope that this useful practice will soon be implemented.

Visit to the UN Information Centre in Moscow

19 December 2024|

On December 18, representatives of Russian and Belarusian universities who signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations met at the UN Information Center in Moscow. Such meetings are traditionally held in December and allow the members to report the results of the cooperation efforts over the year, share news and experience, discuss challenges of the present moment and prospects for cooperation in the nearest future. SCIT Director A.M. Antonova spoke about the results of the SCIT graduates in competitive exams at the United Nations, about the experience of cooperation with UNESCO in organizing a seminar for UN translators with Russian, and about participation in a round table dedicated to the Russian LanguageDay at the United Nations. The meeting was very productive and strengthened ties between Russian universities within the Memorandum of Understanding network.

Master class with Daria Mandrova, MFA interpreter

19 December 2024|

On December 13, the SCIT students had a remote master-class with Daria Mandrova, a SCIT graduate and a staff interpreter at the Linguistic Support Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Daria is a very experienced interpreter, she has repeatedly been involved in working with top state officials at important international meetings and negotiations. We are very grateful to Dasha that she found time in her work schedule to meet with the students, hold a training session, and share her best practices, techniques and professional know-how. It is very important for today’s students to receive support from a senior colleague who went from being a SCIT graduate to a top interpreter from the President’s pool. We hope that such master classes will continue!