Three days with the European institutions
In March 2023, six female students from the MA interpreter training programme of the Charles University Prague Institute of Translation Studies made a trip to the institutions of the European Union in Brussels. The interpreter trip is organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Interpretation (DG SCIC) in cooperation with the European Parliament’s Directorate-General for Interpretation (DG LINC).
On Tuesday the 28th of March, the students spent the whole day in dummy booths (i.e., interpreting without the microphone being switched on) in the Council of the EU. This enabled them to get some interpreting practice in a demanding expert working group meeting on the topic of audio-visual media, under the supervision of two Czech staff interpreters at DG SCIC. In the evening, they also had a joint meeting with the Head of the Czech Interpretation Unit at DG SCIC.
This professional visit was very beneficial for the students as it allowed them to gain a better understanding of the challenges of interpreting in the EU institutions. The participants enjoyed the unique opportunity to try out interpretation in a real meeting and engage in a fruitful exchange with some interpreters from the Czech booth at DG SCIC.