News

Master-class with Anastasia Gavrilina, UN translator

On 3 June SCIT students had a master-class with Anastasia Gavrilina, staff translator at UNOG and SCIT graduate. At the master-class Anastasia spoke about her work as a translator in Geneva, dwelt on the specific features of institutional texts and shared some translator’s techniques. Special attention was given to discussing the texts from the 2023 Language competitive examinations (LCE) for the UN translation services. The detailed analysis of the mistakes and developing strategies for the successful exam outcome will ensure that SCIT would-be graduates  will actively take part in the next session of LCE when it is announced and will be equipped with necesssary knowledge and skills to pass these exams successfully. We thank you Anastasia Gavrilina for the master-class and wish her every success!

(Русский) Семинар для преподавателей перевода от EMCI

On March 14 and 15, a ToT (training of trainers) seminar was organized by EMCI, an international consortium of European master’s programs in conference interpretation. All SCIT trainers were invited to participate in this seminar. The first day was devoted to the use of modern technologies in interpeters’ work and, accordingly, the impact it has on the educational process. University representatives spoke about the experience of using AI in the making of training speeches, in modeling real working scenarios, using technology in the process of work and in preparation for interpreting, as well as about the development of specialized training courses on the use of technology in interpretation. The second day of the seminar touched upon the important topic of preserving the interpreter’s mental health. It is no secret that an interpreter experiences great psychological stress, and the participants discussed effective techniques for stress management.

SCIT was represented by Deputy Director Angelique Antonova.

Master-class of Timofey Mineev, Russian MFA interpreter

On 12 March SCIT  students had a master-class from Timofey Mineev, a staff interpreter at the Russian MFA. SCIT’s collaboration with the MFA of Russia goes back to the year of the School’s inception, and up to date 20 SCIT graduates have worked as staff interpreters at the MFA’s Department of Linguistic Support. One of them is Timofey Mineev. At his master-class Timofey spoke about the necessity to develop certain linguistic and extralnguistic interpreter skills, about  preparations for the job, studying the background information and the necessary materials, tuning to the speaker’s and audience’s wave length, his own experience of working at the Russian MFA.  We heartily thank Timofey for the desire to generously share his experience and hope that today’s speakers will be inspired by his talk to strive for professional heights.

(Русский) День открытых дверей в ВШП

On 15 February SCIT held an All Welcome Day. Everyone  interested in joining the school had an opportunity to meet with teachers and graduates to learn about the educational process, the details of the admission procedure and the prospects for professional development. The event was held in a mixed format, some of the listeners joined it online.

Angelika Antonova, SCIT Deputy director, told about the history of the St. Petersburg School of Conference Interpreting and Translation : “SCIT was founded in 2008 following the initiative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which we are very proud of. The SCIT teaching staff was formed from T&I practitioners with a good reputation, so the ministry believed in us and supported us, and the UN signed a Memorandum of Understanding with us. Over the 15 years of the school’s existence, we turned out 171 graduates. It may not sound as much, but we prioritize quality. We are proud of our graduates and have confidence in their skill.”

UN professional experts joined the event:  Inga Khramkova, interpreter at RIS, UNHQ in New York,  and Kirill Kasyanov, Head of the Russian Interpretation Section at UNON. Inga Khramkova, UN coordinator for MoU, is herself a SCIT graduate and she was the first graduate to work as a simultaneous interpreter at the UN General Assembly and the Security Council. She had a lot to tell  about the work of a UN interpreter and give practical advice on preparation for the SCIT aptitude tests. Kirill Kasyanov, who has been giving master classes in interpretation to SCIT students for many years and has more than once supervised SCIT interns at UNON, spoke about the importance of the Russian language for interpreters, which should be flexible and terminological at the same time. Experienced translators wished all applicants good luck in the aptitude tests!

Director Irina Alekseeva spoke in detail about the educational process and aptitude tests. “The main place in the training process is given to practical classes, since we train primarily for the UN. Of the six UN languages, we have all except Arabic, but we have German instead, because we also train our students to work in the Russian market and try hard to keep up the professional standards. For the whole year, our students learn simultaneous interpretation, as well as consecutive interpretation and written translation. The most popular program we offer is Conference Interpreting and Translation, where two thirds of the classes are devoted to developing interpretation skills,” she noted.

Irina Alexeeva described the aptitude tests in detail, telling what skills applicants need to demonstrate and what mistakes they should try to avoid. She stressed that SCIT applicants should not only be fluent in two foreign languages, but also be able to express their thoughts competently in Russian, since good knowledge of their native language is no less important for an interpreter. She also added that most SCIT students are people  who have been working as translators for several years and want to upgrade their skills, but recent university graduates are also welcome.

This year’s students talked about the training process at the school and about the recently completed internship in Vienna.

At the end of the meeting, the audience was invited to ask questions.

SCIT students at UNOV

From 29 January to 2 February SCIT students are having a week-long internship at UNOV. From day one the trainees got immersed in intensive work: dumb booths daily sessions supervied by experienced UN interpreters who also hold master classes in interpreting technique,  glossary compilation, sight translation, compression in interpreting, relevant resourses and professional growth. Of note is the fact that one of the lecturers on translating texts for the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Outer Space was Dmitry Osadchuk, 2011 SCIT graduate, who is currently a staff UN translator at UNOV. An additional bunus for the trainees was a series of interpreting master-classes from/to French and Spanish.

We are grateful to those many who worked to make this internship possible: Marianna Matakova, Chief of the Interpretation Section, supervisors Anna Chevrieux and Olga Mostinskaya,  Igor Soloviyov, Head of the Russian booth, interpreters Sergey Nagradov, Ludovic Martin, José Manuel Follan and Ksenia Speranskaya. Their master-classes were full of insights and good advice which will help our students to grow into real professionals. Of that we are convinced.

All trainees will receive diplomas upon completion of the internship. The general supervision was conducted by Angelique Antonova, SCIT Deputy Director.