Olga Egorova and Uliana Saveleva

Caspian Higher School of Interpreting and Translation: Teaching I & T in a Multi-Cultural Environment

Astrakhan State University (ASU) is one of the most dynamically developing innovative universities in Eastern Europe, combining academic traditions and innovative technologies. ASU is one of the largest educational establishments in the South of Russia and in the Caspian region, which is a multicultural and poly-confessional region (139 nationalities, 3 world religions). The university was founded in 1932 and has become an international educational establishment since then.

The Caspian Higher School of Interpreting and Translation (CHSIT) trains MA students in interpretation and translation. It is a joint project of Astrakhan State University, the DG Interpretation of the European Commission, the DG Interpretation and Conferences of the European Parliament, supported by UN Secretariat, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of the Astrakhan region. The CHSIT is cooperating with the universities of Geneva, Madrid, Turkey and Ljubljana within the frameworks of the European Parliament DG INTE grant project that promotes dissemination of best practices in conference interpreting training between EU and non-EU languages. ASU has extensive experience in organizing and hosting large-scale international events, in partnership with the European Commission and the European Parliament DGs, the UN agencies and other international bodies.

Having graduated from the intensive 2-year programme, students are awarded Master’s degree and get an opportunity to take accreditation tests to work for the European institutions.

Olga Egorova is a FIT Council Member, FIT Education and Development Task Force Chair, Editorial Board member of Babel International Journal of Translation. She is Head of the Regional Office of the Union of Translators of Russia. She is also Full Professor, Director of the Caspian Higher School of Interpreting and Translation at Astrakhan State University, Russia. Her range of research interests includes translation, interpreting, cross-cultural communication, culture studies, and management.

Uliana Saveleva is an Associate Professor at the Caspian Higher School of Interpretation and Translation (Astrakhan State University), teaching Interpretation and Intercultural Awareness. She obtained her Ph.D. in Linguistics in 2008. She is a member of the Union of Translators of Russia (a regular member of FIT). She had professional training in the European Commission’s Directorate General for Interpretation, and in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Her scientific interests are the theory of interpretation and translation, cultural studies, and discourse studies.