Students returned home from the EU internship programme

From April 3^rd to April 7^th, FU Ai and CHENG Xia, students from the class of the Interpretation of International Conferences, attended the internship programme of the Directorate‑General for Interpretation of the European Commission (DG SCIC). During the internship, they entered the booth to practice their interpreting skills at multiple international conferences of the European Council and the European Commission, as well as the SCIC Universities Conference.

FU and CHENG at the SCIC conference

Staring from April 3^rd, FU and CHENG went through a series of training sessions with diversified forms together with the students from Shanghai International Studies University and University of International Business and Economics. Paul Brennan, Andy Upton, David Smith and many other senior interpreters fully devoted themselves to the training. These training sessions aimed to improve the credibility of the interpreters, as well as their grasp of the tenses and the accuracy of the information. Apart from the training, DG SCIC also arranged many inspiring talks for the trainees. For instance, they were very fortunate to be able to share their views on the present status of the EU and the Sino-EU relationship with Christopher from European External Action Service and Michael from Frankfurt General Newspaper.

Students from our university at the training of the DG SCIC

During the whole programme, Paul Brennan and the tutor from our university, QIAN Fang, gave a lot advice to the two trainees on site. During the SCIC conference, many experts in the field entered the booth multiple times to give guidance to FU and CHENG, and unanimously praised them for their performances. The experts were LI Zhengren, Director of the interpretation service of the United Nations Office at Geneva; ZHANG Ailing, Dean of the Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation SISU, and Mr. Matthew Perret, Senior Freelance Interpreter of the EU, and a member of the International Association of Conference Interpreters.

Mr. Paul Brennan talking about the achievements of the programme

FU and CHENG expressed that this is a very rewarding internship programme. They not only improved their interpreting abilities, but also made plans for their future careers. The interpreters at DG SCIC thought highly of the trainees from our university and complimented the teaching levels of GDUFS together with the learning attitudes of the students. They were also willing to partake in the teaching of the interpretation and the academic exchange events at GDUFS, in order to push forward the cooperation in the cultivation of the talents.

FU and CHENG practicing their interpreting skills in the booth