SCIT – News

SCIT takes part in EMCI General Assembly in Ljubljana, Slovenia

14 September 2018|

In September 2017 SCIT joined EMCI, an elite consortium of fifteen European master’s programmes in conference interpreting with acknowledged quality of training. On 5 and 6 September 2018 University of Ljubljana hosted the annual EMCI General Assambley meeting. As usual, special attention was paid to the quality of interpreter training and developing resourses for teachers and students of interpretation to assist in their independent work. Jana Zidar Forte, a graduate of Ljubljana EMCI programme and a young interpreting trainer and researcher, presented her PhD thesis (already defended) on Traits of prepared oral discourse and their implication for simultaneous interpreting. Another point of interest was the preparation of the Slovenian interpretation service for the Slovene presidency in the Counsil of the European Union next year. A presentation was made by Mrs Marjana Rupnik, Head of the Slovene Unit at the European Commission. SCIT was represented by Angelique Antonova, SCIT Deputy Director. The following General Assembly meetings will take place in spring 2019 in Brussels and in September 2019 in Madrid. SCIT will have the honour to host the EMCI General Asembly meeting in September 2020.

New Jobs for SCIT Graduates

5 September 2018|

We are happy to say that SCIT graduates are continuing to be receive offers from the international organizations. In August 2018 Polina Volkova started her one-year contract with the WIPO in Geneva, which is an excellent career start for this alumna 2017! Congratulations!

Also this summer, following several years of contract work for the UN and having successfully passed the UN competitive exams, Vadim Yermolenko (2014) and Kristina Lugovina (2013) received offers of appointment with the UN. Vadim joined the staff in the UN Office in Nairobi while Kristina took the vacancy at the RIS UNHQ in New York. We are very happy for them!

New academic year at SCIT

1 September 2018|

On 3 September, ten new SCIT students started their year of studies in St. Petersburg. The official opening ceremony was attended by Vladimir Laptev, First Vice-Rector of Herzen University, SCIT administration, trainers and graduates. All present warmly welcomed the newcomers and wished them every success in mastering their chosen profession. Olga Silakova (alumna 2015) told them about her contract with WIPO, and Charlotte Wren (alumna 2017) spoke about the opportunity of pursuing a double degree program with FTI UNIGE. The official part was followed by the traditional tea and cakes and informal socializing.

UN Internships Are Over!

1 September 2018|

On 31 August, SCIT’s graduates of 2018 finished their internships in the UN language services. Our graduates worked in the UN offices and services on three continents: in Europe, America and Africa! Supervised by senior staff members, most of whom they knew from their master-classes at SCIT, the students plunged into the working atmosphere at the UN, working on current UN documentation. We hope the internship experience lived up to their expectations and will be a powerful stimulus for their professional careers. (Full steam ahead now, dear graduates!/) Bon voyage!

Irina Alexeeva’s Interview to the Russki Mir Fund

26 June 2018|

Irina Alexeeva, SCIT Director, gave an interview about the role of interpreters in popularizing the Russian language and culture to the Russki Mir fund.

https://russkiymir.ru/publications/243074

16 May 2018 : Master-classes of J.A. Gamache

22 May 2018|

On 16 May SCIT hosted J.A. Gamache, a world-class professional public speaker. The master-classes were also attended by the students of the Institute of Foreign Languages, Herzen University. Our guest is a member of Toastmasters International – non-profit educational organization dedicated to help its members improve their communication, public speaking, and leadership skills. During three hours J.A. Gamache spoke to the students about how to end the fear of public speaking, gave simple tips on how to deal with various symptoms of this fear and revealed a speechwriting technique to quickly organize thoughts before speaking. The master-classes were held in a free and easy atmosphere; from the first minutes our guest captured the attention of the audience, drew examples from his vast personal experience. His example undoubtedly inspired the students to tackle their fear of public speaking and proved that public speaking can be a lot of fun.

26 May 2018: Andrey Lopukhov, Director, Linguistic Support Department, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attends SCIT Mock-Conference

26 April 2018|

On 26 May a mock-conference devoted to information society was held at SCIT. The conference was attended by Andrey Lopukhov, Director, Linguistic Support Department, MFA of Russia. SCIT trainers made speeches in English, French, German and Spanish giving our distinguished guest the chance to evaluate the students’ competence in all of the languages taught at SCIT. Ian Newton, UNIGE lecturer and former ILO Chief Interpreter, also took part in the event.

16-20 April 2018: visit of Cécile Frogneux, lecturer at the Louvain School of Translation and Interpreting, UCL

26 April 2018|

From 16 to 20 April SCIT hosted Cécile Frogneux, lecturer at the Louvain School of Translation and Interpreting, UCL. The visit was part of the Erasmus + Mobility Programme, initiated by our schools in 2017. Cécile was actively engaged in the teaching process: she gave classes to SCIT students, presented a speech at a mock-conference and acted as an expert in French-into-Russian interpretation classes. Her exchanges with the SCIT colleagues was also valuable. We sincerely hope that this coopertion between our schools will continue.

19 and 20 April 2018: EC SCIC and Partner-Universities Conference

26 April 2018|

On 19 and 20 April 2018 EC SCIC hosted the annual conference which brought together around 180 participants from partner universities collaborating with EC SCIC on a regular basis. Since its inception in 1996 the conference has served as a forum to discuss the latest tendencies in interpreting and teaching interpretation. This year the conference was devoted to Interpretation: Sharing Knowledge and Fostering Communities. A. Antonova, SCIC Deputy Director, had several meetings on the margins of the forum: she participated in the work of EMCI General Assembly and had a meeting with Florika Fink-Hoojer, General Director of EC SCIC.

«Global Dialogue » in Moscow

17 April 2018|

Moscow has opened a new venue to discuss T&I issues: Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration hosted the forum Global Dialogue on 13-14 April. Ekaterina Pokholkova, Dean of the Translation and Interpreting Faculty of the Moscow State Linguistic University (MSLU), and other MSLU trainers contributed immensely to organizing the event and forming its agenda. There were heated discussions, the groundwork was laid for new interpretation research projects. The highlight for the event was set by Pavel Palazhchenko, an experienced interpreter with vast international experience, who stressed the necessity of impeccable interpretation at any level. Young interpreters actively took part: there were many participants from different cities of Russia, and the final plenary was marked by presentations of young talented professionals. The participants took notice of the excellent presentations of Anna Mikhailuk (Balashova) and Grigory Khaustov – both SCIT graduates. The School itself was fondly remembered on several occasions by veterans of the diplomatic service as well as by outstanding professionals and colleagues from Russian universities. SCIT was represented by director Irina Alexeeva.