Astrakhan State University Develops International Cooperation with Geneva

Prof. Olga Egorova, Director of the Caspian Higher School of Interpreting & Translation, has visited Geneva, where she represented Astrakhan State University at meetings with management of foreign universities and the World Intellectual Property Organization, as well as at the General Assembly of the International Standing Conference of University Institutes of Translators and Interpreters (CIUTI).

Geneva is one of Europe’s most attractive cities for a professional interpreter or translator. This is where HQs of international organizations and institutions are located, such as the United Nations, the Red Cross, the World Trade Organization, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, etc.

In its turn, ASU has been in contact with a number of those institutions for a long time, as well as with representatives of Geneva’s research and educational community. In particular, the University of Geneva has been our official partner for several years. This University is one of the top 50 universities of the world; it cooperates with ASU not only in the field of Linguistics, but also in the sphere of Biology. The two universities have a common program of faculty and student exchange, thanks to which young people of ASU can study at one of the world’s best-known universities, while renowned professors come from Geneva to Astrakhan. For example, Prof. Jean-Philippe Jaccard, the world-famous translator and literature specialist, comes to our University on a regular basis to teach our students.

The Swiss Government supports international cooperation between the two universities. Jointly with Russian funds, they are ready to provide a long-term grant for viable projects this year. Prof. Egorova discussed development of the current cooperation with management of the University of Geneva. “We have an idea of online education that our Caspian Higher School of Interpreting & Translation would provide; afterwards, we would launch distance courses and joint training programs”, she said.

While in Geneva, Prof. Egorova visited the General Assembly of the International Standing Conference of University Institutes of Translators and Interpreters (CIUTI). ASU has been its member since 2014. The CIUTI is the world’s most prestigious association of universities, which have programs to train highly qualified translators and interpreters. Membership in this organization means that education in the field of languages, interpreting, and translation, which the Caspian Higher School of Interpreting & Translation provides, indeed complies with the best world standards. Let us note that only three Russian universities have obtained such a high status. The first one was Lomonosov Moscow State University; then Astrakhan State University acquired that status; the last one was Moscow State Linguistic University.

Prof. Egorova also visited the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Its representative, Mr. Geoffrey Westgate, visited ASU not long ago; on behalf of this organization, he expressed a profound interest in further cooperation. During her visit to Geneva, Prof. Egorova visited management of the WIPO and negotiated joint activities in several fields. “Both our foreign colleagues and we are interested in further cooperation that would go beyond training of future translators and interpreters”, she remarked.

The World Intellectual Property Organization now aims to increase Russian researchers’ awareness of the patent system and protection of inventors’ legal rights. Jointly with the Rospatent, it is planning a number of programs in this field; ASU is ready to be its partner and its basic site.