News

SCIT at Annual IAMLADP Meeting

5 April 2019|

On 3-4 April 2019 the Annual IAMLADP meeting took place in Brussels.  IAMLADP is an international forum and network of managers of international organizations employing conference and language service providers. The Universities’ Contact Group (UCG) acts as a liaison point for the further development of relations and co-operation between international organizations and training providers. Organizations can thus inform universities of their requirements, shortages, etc. and universities can contribute to the professions. It is an honour to be a member of the Universities’ Contact Group, and SCIT is proud to take active part in the annual meetings.  Deputy Director Angelique Antonova represents SCIT in this meeting in 2019.  The participants discussed the training initiatives of the universities from Leeds, Salamanka  and Shanghai, and a survey of IOs outreach and training program was presented. SCIC EC announced its project Knowledge Centre: https://ec.europa.eu/…/k…/knowledge-centre-interpretation_en

 

SCIT takes part in EMCI General Assembly Meeting in Brussels

4 April 2019|

On 4 April the EMCI General Assembly meeting took place in Brussels. SCIT was represented by Deputy Director Angelique Antonova. The participants discussed the preparations for the student meeting in Prague which is to take place on 24-28 April. The meeting will be attended by four SCIT students.   Also much attention was given to the implementation of the European Commission grant projects in quality assurance control and developing resources and speech repositories for graduates about to take language examinations for IOs. SCIT is an active participant of these projects.

SCIT – Université catholique de Louvain Cooperation

13 March 2019|

On 24 February – 2 March SCIT trainer Oxana Yakimenko gave master-classes for the students of the T&I Department, the Catholic Univesity of Louvain (UCL), Belgium. She also gave a lecture about Russian cinema as part of the Erasmus + academic mobility scheme.  Herzen University and UCL have been partners in the European Erasmus + Program for several years now, and the exchange of faculty and students has become regular practice. SCIT students with French in their language combination find it especially beneficial.

SCIT opens doors to potential students

22 February 2019|

On 21 February SCIT opened its door to potential applicants. Director Irina Alexeeva welcomed the guests and explained the selection procedure at SCIT aptitude tests.  She underlined that the selection process is rigorous, and successful applicants should prepare themselves for a year of hard work. “When we launched SCIT in 2008, said Irina Alexeeva, we were primarily concerned about raising the status of a translator or an interpreter in our country. Our second goal was  to turn out top-notch specialists for  international organizations able to maintain the high quality of work across the world”.

Deputy Director Angelique Antonova descibed the job prospects after graduation. She backed up her speech with illustrative statistics: out of 129 SCIT graduates 21 are UN staff interpreters and translators, 18 have worked for the MFA of Russia, around 30 are employed by the UN or its agencies on temporary contracts. A lot of graduates work successfully in business or free lance.

One of SCIT’s present day students shared his impressions: «Just a year ago I was sitting in your place and thought that getting into SCIT was impossible. But everything is in your hands. Just like us, you can succeed in the exams, if you are intent on learning and mastering the profession. I certainly advise you to try it. I won’t be easy, but you can do it, like we did. ».

SCIT trainers Tatiana Maruschenko, Yuri Shashkov and Sergey Afonin took the questions from the auadience.

SCIT Trainers Take Part in Training for Trainers Seminar in Budapest

18 February 2019|

On 7 and 8 February 2019 ELTE University in Budapest hosted a Training for Trainers seminar on the use of new technologies in interpreter training. The seminar brought together participants from over 10 countries and created a venue for discussing a wide range of issues, such as the use of the Moodle platform in the training process, ways of encouraging trainers to make a more active use of the tool, the use of various gadgets and on-line platforms in preparation for the job and while on it (e.g. how to use a tablet while interpreting consecutively), the challenges of remote interpreting – what is understood by the term and whether it is necessary to allocate time for it in the training process.

The participating universities generously shared their experiences, and SCIT trainers Sergey Leonov and Vladimir Kornev were unanimous in their estimation of the event as a valuable opportunity to discuss professional issues of interpreter training and interpreting market with the people coming from many different countries.

The seminar was organized within the EMCI project for updating interpreter trainers’ qualification for member universities.

SCIT celebrates the Diplomat’s Day

13 February 2019|

On 11 February a reception to celebrate the Diplomat’s Day took place in the Marble Palace, St. Petersburg. The representatives of diplomatic services, general consulates and the Government of St. Petersburg were invited to the reception. The MFA Office in St. Petersburg is a long-standing partner of Herzen University. Vladimir Zapevalov, MFA Representative in St. Petersburg, and the MFA Office in St. Petersburg took an active part in launching and developing the St. Petersburg School of Conference Interpreting and Translation. 20 SCIT graduates have been employed with the MFA of Russia over the past years.

The MFA Office in St. Petersburg recognized the achievements of Herzen University and its Rector Gennady Bordovsky (1986 – 2011) in promoting international cooperation. In 2009 Rector Bordovsky was awarded the Alexander Gorchakov Silver Medal “For the efforts in strengthening Russian sovereignty and unfailing service to the country” in recognition of his efforts in launching the St. Petersburg School of Conference Interpreting and Translation. In 2018 Director Irina Alexeeva and Deputy Director Angelique Antonova were awarded the Contribution Medal from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to mark the 10th SCIT anniversary.

The ceremony in the Marble Palace was attended by Gennady Bordovsky, President of Herzen University, Yulia Komarova, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation, Director Irina Alexeeva and Deputy Director Angelique Antonova.

      

«The Siege and evacuation: who and what are not forgotten». The talk of Yulia Kantor on 29 January

29 January 2019|

In late January the city of St. Petersburg remembers the horrible days of the siege and commemorates the 75 anniversary of its end. On 29 January SCIT hosted Yulia Kantor, a well-known historian of World War II, who gave a lecture on the evacuation from Leningrad. She and her colleague Irina Karpenko, Scientific Secretary of the Museum of Histroy of St. Petersburg presented a new book – Brotherhood. Devoted to the regions who accomodated the evacuees from Leningrad. With over 30 contributors from all regions of Russia and the former USSR,  the voluminous chronicle of evacuation and comeback reveals the previousluy unpublished details of people’s destinies.

SCIT at Training for Trainers Seminar in Brussels

29 January 2019|

Early in 2019 SCIT graduate and trainer Elena Zheltova attended the traditional Training for Trainers seminar organized by DG SCIC of the European Commission in Brussels.  The training was conducted by acting interpreters from the Spanish booth Carlos García Vico и Marta Igártua. Among the participants were interpreter trainers from various universities in Spain including La Laguna University, SCIT’s partner in EMCI, also trainers from Argentina, Cuba, Great Britain, Denmark and other countries. The seminar is a perfect opportunity for interpreter trainers to systematize their training skills and exchange good practices.  Young trainers from SCIT grab the chance to upgrade their qualifications and are grateful to the European Commission for help. 

Global Dialogue as Interpretation Festival in Moscow

25 January 2019|

It is for the second time that the Interpretation Forum Global Dialogue has taken place in Moscow. This year it was hosted by MGLU (Moscow State Linguistic University), with SCIT acting as a partner in shaping the event’s program.  The forum opened with a series of events targeting the young audience – SCIT trainer Oxana Yakimenko gave a master-class in legal interpreting, director Irina Alexeeva – a master-class in speech making.  The auditoriums were full of students and teachers.  The main program featured a lot of important events, including the plenary talk on the future of the profession and the discussion of interpretation as a means of social inclusion. There was also a talk about the language of gestures, and an exchange of good practices where Angelique Antonova made a presentation about SCIT experience. Our graduates Grigory Khaustov, Sofia Chantseva, Elizaveta Myshenkova, Elena Zheltova and Anna Mikhailyuk shared their success stories in the plenary session. Irina Alexeeva presented the Portal of Educational Interpreting and Translation Resources in Russia, compiled by the research group from RAO (Russian Academy of Education) headed by herself. The Forum branched off with Eastern Dialogue, a new session devoted to Russia’s ethnic languages which drew special attention. It is hard to remember and mention all other events which took place in this excellent venue bringing together all those who are part of this profession!

Our sincere congratulations to the Forum organizers – Elena Stupnikova and her team.

Master-class of AndreyFalaleyev at SCIT

24 January 2019|

Crushing logic, swift responses, vivid examples, sudden revelations and overpowering energy of the accomplished professional – all these are in the master-class of the legendary interpreter Andrey Falaleyev at SCIT. The traditional meeting with SCIT students took place on 22 January. So with the goals set and priorities determined, SCIT students are ready for more work!