22 The Linguist Vol/55 No/1 2016
www.ciol.org.uk
AWARDS FOCUS
Fruition
The first EMT network, comprising 34
university programmes across Europe,
became a reality in July 2009. I was then
appointed Language Officer at the European
Commission Representation in the UK, in
London – that was my reward! For the next six
years, I enjoyed promoting language learning
in the UK and working on joint projects with
British universities of the EMT network. Since
then, the network has grown to include 63
MA programmes.
3
In 2012, its logo became
an EU trademark, which is offered to
members of the network as a quality label.
On top of that, members of the network
benefit from a privileged partnership with
DGT, which provides guest lecturers and
gives priority to their students for unpaid
work placements. Members also benefit
from the collective efforts of the network to
enhance the status of translation as a
profession. The network is inclusive and
welcomes all programmes that fulfil the
admission criteria. What is more, university
programmes that are members of the
network are expected to assist other
programmes to raise their standards so that
they too, at some point, can join.
EMT members meet regularly twice a year
in order to exchange best practices in
translation teaching and to discuss future
developments. They organise themselves in
working groups, each focusing on a
particular aspect of translator training. The
current network has set up the following
groups: Employment and future of the
profession; Tools and technology;
Traineeships and professionalisation; and
Collaborative learning and e-learning. They
operate through various projects, including
AGORA, OPTIMALE, QUALETRA and
TransCert, under which – with the help of
the funding sources – specific issues are
developed further. Moreover, the EMT
network is cooperating ever more closely
with the language industry. It conducts joint
surveys of translation stakeholders, who join
forces to enhance the quality of traineeships.
Thanks to the will and commitment both
of universities and of DGT, the mission has
indeed become possible. The EMT network
is now recognised worldwide as a network
of excellence for European translation
programmes. This underpins a better
recognition of the translation professions
and enhances the quality of global
multilingual communication.
For more information on the EMT network
see http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/
programmes/emt/index_en.htm. Many
thanks to Nikola Kunte, current EMT Project
Manager, for her valuable contribution.
Notes
1 Yves Gambier (University of Turku, Finland –
chair), Nathalie Gormezano (ISTI Paris, France),
Daniel Gouadec (University of Lille II, France),
Dorothy Kelly (University of Granada, Spain),
Christina Schaeffner (Aston University,
Birmingham), Peter-Axel Schmitt (University of
Leipzig, Germany) and Elzbieta Tabakowska
(Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland)
2 Translation service provision, language,
intercultural, information-mining, thematic, and
technological competence. For more
information see http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/
translation/programmes/emt/key_documents/
emt_competences_translators_en.pdf
3 http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/
programmes/emt/universities/index_en.htm
Magdalena
Herok-Broughton
explains how
she prepared
for her winning
performance in
the Diploma in
Public Service
Interpreting exam
I
moved to the UK in early 2004, having
spent five years in France. My first jobs were
in the corporate world, but I had studied
English and specialised in translation in my
native Poland. By the time I decided to study
for the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting
(Health), in autumn 2014, I had been running
my own translation and interpreting business
for more than five years.
My work covers a variety of topics,
including medicine, social services, education
and technical documents, but it is my
collaboration with the NHS that truly sparked
my passion for interpreting. As I had been
interpreting in hospitals, GP surgeries and
mental health clinics in the Midlands on a
daily basis, the DPSI exam felt like a logical
next step in formalising my knowledge.
Due to childcare constraints, I opted for a
long-distance study format. I loved the
flexibility of this arrangement as I was able to
schedule my preparation work for times that
did not conflict with my daily work and family
commitments. Between November 2014 and
May 2015, I attended 15 Skype sessions with
a Polish tutor based in northern England,
herself a holder of the DPSI (Health). Her
encouragement and support were invaluable.
I was provided with a list of essential
reading, books and dictionaries. At the end
The
ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Angeliki is awarded the Threlford Memorial
Cup at the ceremony in November
