An international conference devoted to the training of professional translators – European Master's in Translation – takes place in Brussels on 14 March 2008. Representatives from universities of all EU Member States, as well as of Candidate and Third Countries, will discuss with potential employers and international institutions the core skills that the next generation of translators should have. The conference will also address the admission criteria for universities to join the network working under the common umbrella of the Master's.

The European Master's in Translation scheme was launched to help translator training institutes from all over Europe, and in particular in the Member States that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007, to prepare high-quality professionals tailored for the EU and international institutions and ready to benefit from the single market.

As the translation needs of our society evolve, the means for meeting them are in constant development. Mastering several languages and being familiar with the legal, economic or scientific terminology is not enough; a good translator must be able to safely transfer ideas between languages and cultures – a craft that requires a mix of communication skills, an enquiring attitude, intercultural awareness and knowledge of state-of-the-art computer applications. Moreover, translators are required to master increasingly sophisticated translation memories and to perform well in this increasingly computerised profession.

The agreement of a common curriculum and the establishment of a network are two important steps for promoting the exchanges of lecturers and students between participating universities and, in so doing, enhancing the teaching standards, the professionalism of future translators and a truly European market of high-flying translators.

The first conference with stakeholders and universities, organised in October 2006, laid the basis for this cooperation project. A lot of work has been going on since then and in the second half of 2008 the Commission will publish an open call for universities to join the network.

More information
If you would like the details of the EMT 2008 Conference and approaches towards raising the standard of translator training they are available via the official website of the European Union.