From July 30th to 31st, the 2014 Dujiangyan International Forum was held in Xinhua Hotel in Chengdu. The Forum was sponsored by the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO and organized by Chengdu Education Bureau. Ms Lin Na, an MTI teacher from School of Foreign Languages, Southwest Jiaotong University, and her MTI students Xi Jixin, Wangdi, and Zhao Jiawei of 2014 provided interpreting service for the Forum.
The first session of Dujiangyan International Forum was jointly sponsored by the Chinese National Commission for UNESCO and Chengdu Municipal Government of Sichuan Province in 2010 and followed by two other ones in 2012 and 2013. The fourth one this year concentrated on the theme of “assessment for the function of information and communication technology applied in classroom teaching”, and experts from UNESCO were invited to give keynote speeches and to hold discussions with local teachers, aiming to advance educational information technologies in Chengdu. Lin Na provided consecutive interpretation service for the experts and the teachers from Chengdu Yucai Middle School, and her professional performance won her praise of the participants. Her students Xi Jixin, Wang Di, and Zhao Jiawei also worked as volunteers to offer escort interpretation and support for the Forum. Their conscientious working attitude and good English communication skills gained the recognition of overseas experts and leaders of Chengdu Education Bureau, winning honour for MTI of School of foreign languages, Southwest Jiaotong University.
The three MTI students observed and emulated conference simultaneous interpreting, developed their ability to communicate with others and practiced their interpreting skills. Their harvest from the three-day forum would guide their following studies and efforts.
Located in Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan province, Southwest Jiaotong University offers the students of MTI a range of opportunities to practice their translation and interpreting skills. Currently, Chengdu ranks among the first-tier cities in China, and Tianfu New District is designated as a national-level new district, providing many employment opportunities for students. Besides, the program of MTI focuses on improvement of practical skills in translation and interpreting with the application of CAT (computer aided translation), and is characterized by the development of interdisciplinary talents. All students are welcome to apply for the MTI Programme of School of foreign languages, Southwest Jiaotong University.