News

Master-classes of interpreter Andrey Falaleyev

On 9 March  SCIT students had a master-class with Andrey Falaleyev, a renown interpreter and trainer. Andrey enjoys an impeccable reputation in the professional circles, he is a professional with 30 years of experience, active AIIC member, he has worked with famous global companies, international organizations, state authorities in Russia and the USA, interpreted at all the Olympics starting from 1984.  Andrey is an experienced trainer for sim and consec (DLI, MIIS) and author of many interpretation manuals.

Andrey Falaleyev’s master class consisted of two parts: the first part was acquaintance. Our guest told the students about his professional way, about the personal qualities neccessary for an interpreter, and peppered his stories with anecdotes from his professional life. His own example illustrated some strategies and know-hows for handling potentially difficult professional situations.  The second part of the master class was given to exercise. The students in the booths practiced simultaneous interpreting and in the same breath received feedback. Andrey also described some effective techniques of interpreter (self)training and explained how his manuals can be used for this purpose.

Students from Herzen’s T&I Department also attended the master class.

We thank Andrey for the master-class and hope to have more meetings soon!

Стажировка слушателей и выпускников ВШП в Отделении ООН в Вене

For three years the UN offices around the world ceased to offer internship programs due to the covid-19 restrictions.  Now we are happy to announce that the internships have been resumed, and seven SCIT students and graduates gathered in the heart of Europe in Vienna to study at UNOV. The internship was carried out within the 60th session of the COPOUS Scientific and Technical subcommittee.

The intensive internship program kept the students busy since dawn till dusk: they had lectures and master-classes, worked in dumb booths, interpreted the speeches of the subcommittee members, took relay from other interpreters, prepared and learnt glossaries. Noteworthy that all of the students were very enthusiastic and full of desire to grow.

We are immensely thankful to all colleagues in the interpretation and translation sections at UNOV, who gave a lot of their time and energy to teach the interns: Marianna Matakova, Head of the UNOV Interpretation Section, Igor Soloviev, Head of the Russian booth at UNOV,  and interpreter Nikolay Telnov, gave a series of master-classes and seminars in institutional interpretation and generously shared their experience. They gave valuable feedback on the students’ performance and practical advice on preparation for the UN competitive language exams which are scheduled for this coming July.  Master classes were also given by Sergey Tyurin, Russian translator at UNOV, and interpreters Sergey Nagradov and Olga Mostinskaya. We are glad that foreign colleages also took part in the training: Alice Rickmans, interpeter from the French booth, gave a class in French interpretation. The interns did some distant work, too – the teaching program was complemented by the master-classes of Anna Chevrieux, interpreter from UNON and UN coodinator for  Herzen University within MoU Agreement.

We are sure that such internship programs give valuable experienec and serve as a strong motivating factor for interpreters in the making. Now SCIT students know first hand that employment at international organizations is a real possibility for the ambitious and hardworking youth.

SCIT takes part in the meeting of the MoU members at the UN Information Centre in Moscow

UN Information Center in Moscow organized a traditional meeting of the universities – memebrs of the MoU network.  25 representatives of various organizations – MFA of Russia, UNHQ, UNOV, UNOG, FAO, ESCAP and representatives of partner universities took part in this mixed format meeting. SCIT was represented by Director Irina Alexeeva and Deputy Director Angelique Antonova.

The guests were welcomed by Vladimir Kuznetsov, UN Center Director. Mikhail Barilovich, Deputy Director of the MFA Department of Linguistic Support, spoke about the new tendencies and prospects in interpreters’ work in the Russian MFA. Heads of the UN linguistic services and representaties of FAO and ESCAP joined the discussion and shared their vision of how to maximize the effectiveness of MoU, what forms of work need fostering in the cooperation of the MoU universities and international organizations. University representatives presented their reports of the activities carried under the MoU in 2020-2022. All present were genuinely involved in  the discussions and took an active part in planning the activities for the next year.

7-9 December: SCIT takes part in the MSLU conference

From  7 to 9 December Moscow State Linguistic University holds a scientific and research conference with the international participation on Translation as profession, science and art. The conference is organized to mark the 80-th  anniversary of the Translation and Interpreting department.  Mounting such a big-scale academic event proves the topicality and popularity of the T&I topic in Russia and provides a furum for a fruitful exchange of valuable academic experiences among the T&I professionals, which eventually contributes to the high level of T&I training in all universities across the country. SCIT is represented by Angelique Antonova, deputy director. On 8 December she gives her presentation on the Continuous quality assurance in the process of T&I training .

3 November: Terra Translatologica seminar at Herzen university

On 3 November Herzen university hosted another meeting of the Terra Translatologica seminar. The event was called ‘The Obvious, the Unbelievable: literary translation. how to teach and how to publish’   The key speaker of the seminar was Alexander Filippov-Chekhov, the moderator was SCIt director Irina Alexeeva.

Alexander Filippov-Chekhov is a translator of German and English fiction and non-fiction, founder and chief editor of the Libra Publishing House. Alexander also inspired the Peredelkino translation projects and is a curator of the translation workshops and residences in Peredelkino.

The meeting comprised two parts: first Alexander told about the profession of a literary translator, their role in publishing and social life at large, shared his discoveries in translation. He also took questions from the audience about the state of the literary translation market in general, about his personal experience in dealing with the challenges of the professional translation. The second part was devoted to the work of the publishing  house and the presentation of the books, followed by the discussion about the quality of the publishing business today. The guest also spoke about the work of his own publishing house.

There was a lot of interest on the part of the audience to the meeting. All participants were eager to ask questions and got involved in the discussion. The project undoubtedly raises the profile of the translator’s profession, enriches the participants with new insights and knowledge.