For 60 years, the University of Bath’s internationally leading MA Interpreting & Translating (MAIT) programme has prepared graduates for careers as linguists in international organisations, supporting the work of ambassadors, diplomats and civil servants at the highest level. MAIT alumni can be found working as translators, editors and conference interpreters at the UN (New York, Geneva, Vienna and The Hague), EU institutions (Brussels and Luxembourg) and a range of UN agencies and NGOs worldwide.
How better to celebrate this milestone than with our summer interpreting course, a week of intensive interpreting exercises designed to prepare our current MAIT European cohort for upcoming interpreting accreditation tests at the EU institutions? Our students are applying their hard-won conference interpreting skills to real-world scenarios and receiving targeted feedback on their technique, enabling them to fine-tune their preparations for the professional tests.
MAIT European is fortunate to receive support from a large number of international partners, all keen to employ Bath graduates after the course. As well as Memorandums of Understanding with the UN and European Parliament, the course enjoys partnerships with the European Commission, Court of Justice of the EU, Council of Europe, OECD, International Maritime Organization, International Telecommunications Union, and International Court of Justice, amongst others. This week, we are delighted to be hosting Ross Noble, a staff interpreter from the European Commission, who is supporting the summer course by running mock simultaneous interpreting tests and providing feedback based on the EU accreditation test criteria: a golden opportunity for our students.
Ross Noble, European Commission staff interpreter, commented:
I am delighted to be in Bath for the summer interpreting course, supporting students’ final preparations for our accreditation tests. The Bath MAIT course is a longstanding supplier of both staff and freelance interpreters to the EU institutions, which is why we are committed to supporting it through in-person visits and virtual classes. In addition, the Head of the English and Irish Unit at the European Commission, Morag Neath - herself a Bath alumna - attends Bath’s final interpreting exams. Over one third of this year’s English mother-tongue candidates for the accreditation test are from Bath, and an impressive three out of four of the interpreters on this year’s European Commission Newcomers’ Scheme are Bath graduates.
Miguel Fialho, Director of Studies for programmes in interpreting and translating, commented:
We are very proud of the achievements of our MAIT European alumni, whose professional success makes such a valuable contribution to enhancing Bath’s global reputation. The course remains rigorous, relevant and pioneering, having developed over the years in line with changes in the industry. It continues to attract high-achieving students and helps them to realise their ambition to turn their passion for languages into an international career.
We look forward to this year’s students following in the footsteps of 60 years of Bath MAIT graduates, and becoming global ambassadors for the University.