Daria Dekhanova and Natalia Rastorgueva, students from the Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology of Voronezh State University, were among prize-winners of the first international students’ contest of specialised translation. The contest was held between 10 and 20 September. The event was organised by the Department of English Language of the Odintsovo branch of Moscow State Institute of International Relations, the Association of Translator and Interpreter Trainers, Minsk State Linguistic University, and the Association of Professional Translators and Interpreters and Professional Companies of Kazakhstan with the support of Natalia Gavrilenko’s School of Translation Didactics.
Over 900 participants, including students from Voronezh State University, presented their translations within 8 different areas: translation in the area of modern technologies, advertising and PR, in the area of management, technical translation, medical translation, legal translation, political translation, and economic translation.
Daria Dekhanova, a third year student of the speciality Translation and Translation Studies, took second place in the nomination “Translation in the area of advertising and PR”. Natalia Rastorgueva, fifth year student (speciality Translation and Translation Studies), took second place in the nomination “Translation in the area of modern technologies”.
“Participation in translation contests is a good way to practice your knowledge in professional activities. The Odintsovo branch of Moscow State Institute of International Relations in cooperation with prestigious translation associations provided us with an opportunity to try our hands in all areas: from technical translation to literary translation. They gave us a complete freedom of choice. Although our first practical translation classes only started this year, I was eager to give it a try with advertising texts. They have a lot of translation “pitfalls”. It was especially interesting to listen to the reputable members of the jury who commented on our works. My advice to students from the first and second years is to take part in such contests and not to be afraid of failures! Experience means more positive results in the future. Each text you have translated will become a brick in the foundation of your future practical skills!” said Daria Dekhanova.
“We are very glad that our translation students got interested in this contest. Our university submitted nine applications. We always try to inform our students about different professional events and encourage them to take part in them. Our congratulations to the winners and all the participants who gained an interesting and useful experience,” said Larisa Kuzmina, Head of the Department of Translation and Professional Communication of the Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology.
“The participation in the contest helped our students understand in which areas of translation they would like to try their hands. Without a doubt, in-class learning is very important for professional training. However, “putting yourself outside your comfort zone” is a unique experience and is a kind of a way to “try on” a future specialisation,” said Associate Professor Elena Pivovarova who supervised the participants during the preparation stage.
