The Languages and Intercultural Studies Department of Heriot-Watt University was delighted to welcome Ross Noble, EU Commission staff interpreter, for a 3-day pedagogical assistance visit at the end of January.

This visit is part of a long-standing partnership between the Department and the EU Commission interpreting services. Through this exclusive scheme, LINCS has benefited from visits from experienced EU interpreters, a number of whom, like Ross Noble, are also graduates from our institution. For instance, Joanne O’Donnell, another Scottish LINCS graduate, visited our institution at the start of semester 1, sharing her expertise in note-taking and offering advice to set Honours and MSc interpreting students off on the right track for their final year of training.

During his visit, Ross Noble contributed to our annual career event focused on translation and interpreting – SWATI– and he also attended M.A. and MSc classes, as well as the weekly mock multilingual conference. Students were able to benefit from an insight into his professional pathway to this highly prestigious interpreting post, and they also received detailed feedback and guidance in class on their performances from him. This type of visit provides final-year students with top industry insight, as well as training and development support from professionals who work at highest level in the T&I sector.

Previous visits have also served alumni well, giving them the keys to successfully plan their own routes into the profession: for instance, Gavin Darroch, LINT alum. 2020, successfully became an EU-accredited interpreter in 2023 and has now secured a full-time contract interpreting for the European Parliament, and Adam Williamson, who also contributed to our career speed-networking event, has recently passed the same accreditation tests and will soon be joining the interpreter roster in Brussels.