A Visit of Luca Costa, Head of the Education and Training Department of the Italian Institute of Welding and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Welding

So many skills are mastered by interpreters, so many roles are played by them! This time the MA students of the Caspian Higher School of Interpreting and Translation had to get skills in welding engineering and to learn sophisticated terminology of a complex technological process due to the visit of Mr. Luca Costa, Head of the Education and Training Department of the Italian Institute of Welding and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Welding.

The MA students provided simultaneous interpretation during a foreign expert’s visit in Astrakhan.  The program of  the visit was really rich and it included a meeting with the Acting Rector of Astrakhan State University dedicated to prospects of a joint project, participation in a round-table discussion organized by  the ASU Institute of Researches and Solutions to Technological Tasks involving other higher and  vocational education institutions, representatives of factories and regional business, holding master classes on welding engineering technology for students of the Department of Physics & Technology.

Moreover, students practiced the whisper interpreting technique when the guest went on an excursion to ASU buildings and the shipbuilding yard “Lotos”.

This experience was incredibly useful for the MA students who provided interpretation at these events because it gave an opportunity to practice in a highly specialized welding sphere.

The responsibility level was extremely high as the students provided interpretation not only for the guest and students but for the acting rector, vice rectors and employees of different local enterprises.

The visit to the shipbuilding yard “Lotos” and the opportunity to see how welding experts work was also an interesting and fascinating event.

Despite all the difficulties, the MA students coped with the task. Now they can tell about the differences between arc welding and  oxy-fuel welding  in every detail and in different languages. It shows once again how versatile and comprehensive the profession of interpreter and translator is.