The University of Genoa is one of the largest universities in Italy, founded in 1481. Among its vast area of education, the University provides training in simultaneous interpreting.
Faced with COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 and the overarching need to train students for the future of interpreting, the professors looked for a solution that served their students remotely and provided a learning space with real-life RSI conditions.
Event date:
Since December 2019
Location:
Genoa, Italy
Type of event:
Remote
Interactio product:
Interactio interpreter console and full solution
“Interactio made it possible for learning to happen both because the university didn’t have the appropriate equipment and because the pandemic broke out. It is still making it possible to learn and grow for students and professors alike, even as we are starting to go back to in-person learning.”
Challenge
University of Genoa’s simultaneous interpretation courses have looked for a remote simultaneous interpretation solution to train students in real-life scenarios. As the pandemic hit, all lectures and training transitioned to a fully remote format, removing the opportunity to conduct in-person classes.
As the pandemic broke out, many interpreting courses around the world turned to recordings: i.e. students had to record their interpretation and send it to their trainers for evaluation. Unfortunately, this solution lacked the live element and immediateness that interpreting requires.
As Professor Lanata highlighted, it is critical for trainers to listen to both the students and the source in real-time since it is essential to see what portions of the original speech students find difficult. In this ideal setup, instructors can pinpoint students’ strengths and weaknesses and suggest specific training and exercises.
To conduct proper interpretation training even during the pandemic, the department’s staff looked for a remote solution for teaching.
Solution
The Interactio team partnered with professors from the University of Genoa to deliver simultaneous interpretation training in the remote format, integrating our RSI platform into their language courses and focusing on hands-on learning and independent use.
Since classes are regular and serve as a teaching rather than a meeting platform, the solution needed to be easy to operate both for the professors and the students independently.
Making it possible to hold the course without any hardware and on-site presence, the use of Interactio helped the classes continue in a fully remote format throughout the pandemic. Even as the regulations about on-site presence are being lifted, the professors encourage the use of the platform as it requires fewer resources, all while bringing the most value and developing essential skills for the students.
Participants
Languages
Interpreters
Unresolved
technical issues
Training and independent use in the university setting
At the beginning of our collaboration, the Interactio technical support team assisted the professors with setting up a solution for the university's needs. Our dedicated technical customer support specialist conducted in-depth training on the Interactio consoles so that the RSI classes can be as independent and as seamless as possible.
Training and independent use in the university setting
At the beginning of our collaboration, the Interactio technical support team assisted the professors with setting up a solution for the university's needs. Our dedicated technical customer support specialist conducted in-depth training on the Interactio consoles so that the RSI classes can be as independent and as seamless as possible.
Flexible and accessible interpretation classes
Even as the classes returned to on-site in 2022, professors went on teaching interpretation with RSI solutions since students can be trained anytime, anywhere, with better results. Using Interactio during remote classes since the beginning of the pandemic showed that integrating a real-life RSI solution into the curriculum provides more flexibility and accessibility to interpretation than ever, all while requiring the least hardware and resources
Practical realistic learning for the future of interpretation
Training using the software that is already incorporated by leading institutions like the UN, the European Commission, and others serves as a better platform for developing skills for the real world. Instead of additional training as they enter the job market, the students already graduate with the necessary qualifications to take high-level interpretation assignments and the comfort, confidence, skillset, and concentration of hands-on learning.
Interpretation console
The Interactio platform is used as a teaching tool for RSI, where the professors enter the meeting as participants to listen to and evaluate the interpretation live, while the students use the Interactio interpreter console to practice their skills and interpret either a recorded message or a speech delivered by their trainer. This setup is the closest to real-life scenarios, yet doesn’t require any hardware or booths, minimizing the resources and space needed.
DPO at InteractioInternational
karolis@interactio.io
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