News

Distant classes with UN translators

14 May 2020|

When people talk about SCIT  they generally mean interpreting. However, translation takes no less time and place in the trainig process. In fact, there are 20 SCIT graduates currently working in the UN translation services, and this fact speaks for itself.

Traditionally in April SCIT hosted Mikhail Kuzmenko, Senior Reviser from the Russian Translation Section at UNOG. He came to take part in the aptitude tests and give master-classes to the students, trained them for the internship programs in the UN offices. Mikhail Kuzmenko is an excellent reviser, and his commentaries and explanations are  very useful and always to the point.

This year the situation is different. But hardly any worse! Mikhail Kuzmenko  supervises the institutional translation project carried out by the students. They translate UN documentation and discuss the work in the Zoom conferences. SCIT trainer Sergey Afonin is also involved in the project. He is present at the classes and draws advice from his vast experience of working for the international organizations.

Distant pedagogical assistance from UN

20 April 2020|

SCIT has close ties with the UN, and the Herzen University signed the Memorandum of Uniderstanding with the UN in 2008. SCIT graduates have their internship at the UN offices around the globe, some found permanent employment at the UN. Staff UN interpreters and translators come to SCIT with master-classes or to observe at final exams or aptitude tests.

Even at the present moment of COVID-19 confinement SCIT and UN continue the cooperation. Despite the fact that some series of master-classes have been cancelled due to the pandemic, SCIT students are not left without mentorship from the international organizations. Mr. Kirill Kasyanov, head of the Russian booth at UNON, has already given several virtual classes in institutional interpreting this semester, and on 17 April he had the first class on the KUDO platform allowing to teach simultaneous interpreting remotely. Mr. Kasyanov promised to make it a regular practice till the end of the semester.

3 April: first KUDO mock conference at SCIT

4 April 2020|

On 3 April SCIT held the first full-scale mock conference using the KUDO platform! Yes, there were some technical hitches, sound gaps and change-of-interpreter problems. We did  not use videos or relay, not yet. But we had three booths for two interpreters, proper speeches and moderators. The conference had two parts (to change the speakers and interpreters) and lasted 4 hours. There were 9 students and 6 trainers taking part in it.

On the whole, it worked. All interpreters got certified and were able to log in and work; the trainers needed two devices to connect and thus were able to simultaneously follow both the original speech and the interpretation. It was a full-fledged conference, and we were learning interpreting as well as mastering RSI. Let us hope that all  the stress and strain of taming technologies was not for nothing. Classes at SCIT continue according to the timetable, and the student do not lose the momentum. We are keeping  on!

PS We thank KUDO for the opportunity to use their platform free of charge and with no limit. The company promptly resonded to the EMCI request and generously granted access to its services to the member universities, as well as organized training seminars for the users.

SCIT tests new software for distant interpreter training

18 March 2020|

At this difficult moment mutual support and help are beyond price. EMCI universities  consortium, of which Herzen’s SCIT program is a member, appealed to RSI software developers for help. The KUDO company kindly agreed to provide its platform to the EMCI universities till the end of the semester at no cost for them, and hold a seminar for the trainers.  The first seminar took place on 17 March, the next one is planned on Friday. Next week we hope to be able to use the platform for the distant simultaneous interperter training at SCIT. Our thanks go to  Ewandro Magalhães for organizing and running this seminar. We are optimistic about the future and hope for the best!

28 February: All Welcome Day at SCIT

3 March 2020|

On 28 February SCIT opened its doors to potential students. The event took place in the Conference hall, and it was so full there were almost no free seats left. Following the tradition Director Irina Alexeeva opened the meeting by telling about the admission exams procedure, and then SCIT trainers and graduates (Yury Shashkov, Sergey Leonov, Elena Zheltova) spoke about the curriculum and the studying process. We were also happy to welcom Kirill Kazakov, SCIT graduate of 2014 and now a staff MFA interpreter, who told about interpreting at the high level and his experiences of interpreting for Russia’s political leaders. Certainly the guests asked questions, and we hope they found answers for them, and left with a better understanding of what SCIT is and how we teach here. We believe that many of them will come back to try their luck at the aptitude tests which start on 30 March.

EMCI holds ToT Seminar for SCIT trainers

2 March 2020|

From 27 to 29 February, SCIT hosted Ian Newton, lecturer at FTI-UNIGE and former ILO Chief Interpreter, who ran a series training sessions for SCIT teachers. These activities were organized within the framework of cooperation with the EMCI Consortium, of which SCIT is an active member.
The Training of Trainers sessions addressed many varied issues relating to the teaching of simultaneous interpreting at the intermediate level. SCIT trainers were active participants, contrinbuting their own experience and expertise to the discussions, and testing new approaches and techniques with SCIT’s current students. The logic of the discussions followed the students’ expected transition from simple well-structured narratives on familiar topics to more demanding speeches, with special attention paid to stress management and building up the interpreter’s stamina and resilience.
We express sincere gratitude to EMCI for organizing this event, and Ian Newton personally for making the discussions useful, lively and stimulating.

Master-classes of Ian Newton, FTI-UNIGE lecturer

2 March 2020|

From 25 to 26 February, SCIT hosted Ian Newton, lecturer at FTI-UNIGE and former ILO Chief Interpreter, who ran a series of master-classes for students.
SCIT students are at their initial stage of mastering retour into English, and Ian Newton’s master-classes were designed to foster their progress. The programme of master-classes was intensive, with three class sessions daily, and students practiced skills in both consecutive and simultaneous interpreting into English.
We express sincere gratitude to Ian Newton for generously sharing his experitise with SCIT students.

18 February 2020: third meeting of ‘Terra Translatologica’ seminar

19 February 2020|

On 18 February SCIT held the third meeting of the open seminar Terra Translatologica hosting Alena Malofeeva and Andrey Falaleyev, both AIIC members.  They have vast experience in interpreting at international events, and have authored nine popular self-training books for simultaneous interpreters. The guests spoke about their professional paths, the benefits of the profession, and their work on the books. The seminar participants learned that a simultaneous interprter, even an experienced one, needs regular practice, and the best exercise is reading quality press and interpreting  videos on any topic that seizes imagination.

«I am happy to have chosen this profession. It suits my character, I am not tied to the office desk, but instead can travel around the globe and get knowledge about different fields . What is more, this work expects you to grow personally throughout lifetime», — said Alena Malofeeva about her vocation.

«The seminar is organized within the project “Open Univesity”. We invite anyone interested in the interpreter’s profession to discuss relevant issues in the informal and friendly atmosphere. We certainly welcome students, including freshmen, because we are convinced such meetings are as useful as regular classes», — said Irina Alexeeva, SCIT Director.

 

12 February: VC with University of La Laguna

14 February 2020|

On 12 February SCIT held a virtual conference with the Master’s Conference Interpreting programme of the University of La Laguna, our partner in the EMCI Consortium. Both side were equally enthusiastic to organize the event as this year SCIT has 4 students with Spanish ‘C’ language, and La Laguna also has a student with Russian. This was an occasion for them to practice their interpreting skills with these languages, and get feedback from the native speakers. Human rights were chosen as a topic for the conference. The speeches addressed various aspects of the problem, such as  homelessness, domestic violence, civil rights as mirrored in the national projects in Russia, and the rights of the indigenous populations. We sincerely thank our colleagues from La Laguna for initiating the conference, and look forward to continuing this cooperation in the future within the frame of the cooperation agreement existing between our schools.

Specialists from Independent Agency For Accreditation and Rating visiting SCIT

30 January 2020|

On 30 Januray two specialists from Independent Agency for Accrediatation and Rating visited SCIT. Dr. Olga Yanovskaya and Dr. Alina Zhumagulova arrived at Herzen university to discuss the cooperation prospects in the field of international accrediatation.  The guests showed genuine interest in SCIT. Deputy Director Angelique Antonova showed them around the School and made a presentation covering the program content and quality assurance system implemented at SCIT.