A key role of practical training in higher education: what can traineeship offer to trainee translators?

Abstract

This paper gives an outline of Traineeship at the Department of Translation, University of Ljubljana, designed as a practical, hands-on experience in translation work for students. In the re-design of the study programmes at the Department of Translation in line with the Bologna Reform, compulsory Traineeship was introduced as part of the MA course in Translation/Interpreting, offering students an insight into real-life translation situations while providing employers with an impression of their prospective employees. The main objective of Traineeship is to give an added-value to the MA course, provide job opportunities and offer students a practical experience while workingwith the state-of-the-art translation technologies. The trainees can apply their knowledge obtained at the faculty to real-life translation assignments while gaining new skills and experience which combined contribute to a more efficient integration into the translation market. The paper explores the specific approaches to the implementation of Traineeship at the Department of Translation developed over the last decade, offering a model of good practice to other traineeship organizers.