Your profile

• You are intellectually curious and closely follow current events and developments in the world. You have in-depth knowledge in a variety of fields.
• Your best assets will be your ability to make the most of the richness and subtleties of the French language and your ability to think on your feet.
• You have a good command of the two foreign languages from which you will be interpreting.
• You know how to communicate and want to act as a bridge between people and cultures. 
• You dream of being at the heart of the event and constantly in contact with different subjects.
• You like a challenge and want continue learning and discovering throughout your career.

Your future job

Conference interpreters interpret speeches made in another language, usually into their mother tongue. There are two main types of interpreting:

• simultaneous interpreting: the interpreter sits in a booth and transmits the message as the speaker speaks. The audience in the room receives the message through headphones. This type of interpreting is generally used at multilingual conferences.
• Consecutive interpreting: the interpreter restates the message after the speaker has spoken, using notes taken using a personal technique. This type of interpreting is suitable for bilingual or trilingual meetings. 

Interpreters may work for national or European institutions or international organisations as civil servants or as accredited freelancers. Outside the institutional framework, they also interpret for a large number of events on the open market: works councils, various meetings, international conferences, trade union negotiations, delegation visits, etc.
In addition, thanks to the knowledge and skills acquired during their training at the Louvain School of Translation and Interpreting (LSTI), interpreting graduates also have excellent career opportunities in many other fields: diplomacy, multilingual communication, public relations, international trade, journalism, media, publishing, the cultural world, teaching, the banking sector, etc.

Your programme

The advantages of the Louvain School of Translation and Interpreting (LSTI) and its course :

• The teaching team, made up of university lecturers and experienced professional interpreters, ensures the link between theory, practice and the professional market: a close-knit team that will provide you with sympathetic guidance throughout your course.
• Teaching in small groups guarantees you personalised support.
• The LSTI benefits from regular teaching assistance from European and international institutions (EU, UN, NATO, etc.), enabling you to familiarise yourself with these organisations and develop the skills you need to work in them.
• The LSTI's equipment is constantly evolving in line with technological developments: two classrooms equipped with interpreting booths put you in a working situation similar to that of professional interpreters.
• An introduction to consecutive "retour" interpreting into your strongest language will be an additional asset for your career.
• As well as linguistic expertise, you will acquire intellectual rigour, work capacity and a versatile, adaptable profile, all qualities that are highly sought after in many sectors of the job market. 

Your parcours

The programme consists of :

• 75 core credits (including 15 credits for the dissertation and 12 to 16 credits for the work placement)
• 30 credits for specialised studies in conference interpreting.
• 15 credits of electives or an option.

Possible language combinations:

English + German
English + Dutch
English + Spanish
English + Russian
English + Turkish
German + Dutch
German + Russian
biactif French <> sign language of French-speaking Belgium (LSFB)

Work placements
During the last semester of the course, work placements play an important role. They will enable you to use the skills acquired at LSTI in a real working environment. You will work at closed microphones in national institutions and international organisations (NATO, EU, Council of Europe, UN) where you will benefit from the advice of interpreters from these institutions. You will also do voluntary interpreting for conferences and events organised by non-profit organisations. In this case, you will be working for an audience that will depend on your interpretation. 
Internships are selected with care and in accordance with good practice in the profession by the teaching team, who will help you prepare for them and assess your performance. 

The final examination
At the end of the course, you will sit an examination before a jury made up of the teaching team, professional interpreters and representatives of the interpreting services of international organisations, which guarantees recognition of the diploma by the profession and a direct opening onto the market.

The aptitude test
In September, at the very start of the Masters in Interpreting, you will take an aptitude test organised by the teaching staff, who will give you a detailed opinion. The purpose of this test is to assess whether you have the skills required to begin interpreting studies with confidence. If you receive an unfavourable opinion, you will have the opportunity to reorientate yourself before the registration deadline.