On Thursday, 4 April 2024, the Vice-Rector for International Relations, Dr. h. c. prof. Mgr. Slávka Tomaščíková, PhD. and the Dean of the UPJŠ Faculty of Arts, prof. Mgr. Renáta Panocová, PhD., received Miroslava Petrovská, Head of the Slovak Interpretation Department at the European Parliament. They discussed the possibilities of cooperation in the field of internships for students of the University, as well as the employment of UPJŠ graduates in European Union structures.
„Regular contact and cooperation with Slovak departments in the European Union institutions is an important contribution to improving the quality of studies in translation and interpreting programmes implemented at our University,” said Vice-Rector Tomaščíková immediately after the meeting.
Following the meeting with the representatives of the university and the faculty, Mrs. Petrovská delivered a lecture to the students of the Department of English and American Studies at the UPJŠ Faculty of Arts on the work of interpreters in the European Parliament, the important skills for this profession, and also gave some tips and advice for students of interpreting on how to become an interpreter in the European institutions.
„For our future graduates of the translation and interpreting programmes, it is important to have contact with experts with many years of experience working as interpreters and translators in the European Union institutions. The opportunity to meet them in person and ask them questions is an exceptional and irreplaceable experience, which can be a decisive moment in the future work of our graduates,” said Dean Panocová, evaluating the benefits of the visit.
The European Parliament currently interprets from and into 24 languages, making it the only institution in the world with such a wide linguistic coverage. These 24 languages create a total of 552 possible language combinations. Miroslava Petrovská interprets from French, Spanish, Portuguese and Czech into Slovak. The Slovak interpreting department in the European Parliament was established in 2003 before the Slovak Republic joined the European Union (for more information, see the interview with Miroslava Petrovská in Európske noviny).
