International Forum | Educating “Language+” Professionals for International Organizations
SISU students in the DPI (Department of Public Information, UN) internship program
Huang Youyi, chairman of the National MTI Steering Committee, speaking at the forum
Jiang Hua，direcot of News and Media Division, UNDPI gave the internship certificates to SISU DPI team members
Director Jiang Hua with SISU DPI team members
An international Forum, themed “Educating ‘Language+’ Professionals for International Organizations”, was held in Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) from Sep.4 to Sep.7, 2018.
Hosted by the Graduate Institute of Interpretation and Translation (GIIT) of SISU, the forum had series of topics including interdisciplinary education, language services and MTI (Master of Translation and Interpreting) programs for cultivating multilingual talents in the globe.
Shu Jinlong, director of the Shanghai Office of Academic Degrees Committee, pointed out that the development of big data and artificial intelligence makes international organizations more focus on talents with interdisciplinary knowledge except for language skills.
Forum attendees included Huang Youyi, chairman of the National MTI Steering Committee, Shivona Tavares-Walsh, chief of Division of Conference Services at United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), Jiang Feng, SISU’s University Council Chair, and other officials, graduate students from China and other countries.
SISU, the only university in China covering all the six official UN languages, has always kept cultivating international organization professionals.
Every student majoring in conference interpretation (CI) in GIIT is evaluated by examination council consisting of special agents from UN and European Commission.
In the DPI (Department of Public Information, UN) internship program, SISU students can be selected to work in the UN Headquarters in New York during winter and summer vacations.
Three students majoring in Spanish interpretation have joined the program. All students mastering the Arabic, Chinese and English languages have been invited by the UN to join the DPI team since the first launch of this trilingual major in 2015.
Teachers and students of GIIT have also cooperated with the UN to translate UN flagship publications like UN Chronicle.
Established in April 2017，Shanghai International Studies University Student Development Association for International Organizations (SISUSIO) cooperated with the UN Association of China to prepare students for international organization internship and voluntary work.
SISU’s Honors College also set up an experimental class in 2017 to train talents for multilingual international organizations. Only outstanding undergraduates can be selected to this class.
Li yansong, the president of SISU, emphasized that SISU will keep promoting the educating of ‘Language+’ professionals for international organizations.
Jiang Hua, director of News and Media Division, UNDPI, appreciates the “never-miss-any-deadlines” professionalism of SISU DPI team members at the seminar at the Yangtze River Delta forum.
