University Welcomes Member of the European Parliament

28 Oct 2014

Olga Cosmidou, Director-General of Directorate-General for Interpretation and Conferences, European Parliament visits The University of Manchester this week.

Cosmidou, who is the Director-General of Directorate-General for Interpretation and Conferences at the European Parliament, is visiting The School of Arts, Languages and Cultures from 29 to 31 October 2014.

Initially Cosmidou will be meeting staff and students to discuss the University’s conference interpreter training. The visit builds on the School’s existing link with The European Parliament which is one of the biggest employers of conference interpreters in the world.

Last year, a group of MA Conference Interpreting students visited the European Parliament where they were given the opportunity to hone their skills in a variety of meetings. During the visit the students received feedback from staff interpreters on their performance. A group of students subsequently returned to Brussels to take part in a Europe-wide competition, with one student winning second prize.

Later during Cosmidou’s visit to the University, she is giving a presentation at the International Postgraduate Conference in Translation and Interpreting being held in Manchester entitled “A Multilingual Parliament and Universities: partners in pursuit of interpreting excellence”. Dr Ebru Diriker, Professor of Translation and Interpreting Studies at Bogazici University, Istanbul, and an Honorary Research Fellow at Manchester, will also be part of the visit. 

The visit will culminate in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the European Parliament and the University, establishing a framework for future cooperation.

The School of Arts, Languages and Cultures has previously welcomed speakers from the interpreting service to take part in careers events.