AGORA – Transnational Placement Scheme for Translation Students is a 3-year project coordinated by the University of Bologna and co-financed by the European Commission under the 2012 LLP Erasmus programme action “Cooperation between Higher Education Institutions and Enterprises.” The project aims at establishing a solid network composed of both Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and translation companies that will both facilitate the implementation of transnational internships for advanced translation students in the short term and foster graduates’ employability in the long term.
As a sustainable structure embedded into the European Master in Translation (EMT) network and through the implementation of clear rules, permanent national contact points and a Europe-wide Web Application, AGORA will concretely:
- formulate a clear code of conduct for the partners;
- help to overcome legal and financial barriers for transnational placement;
- match supply and demand (get the right intern in the right place);
- ensure efficient feedback between the translation business and the HEI training translators, informing the former about the quality of the degrees awarded and the latter about the actual skills needed by translators in their professional life.
The stability and continuity of AGORA will be guaranteed through the embedment in the EMT Network, national contact points and a Web Application for transnational internship offers and demands. A stable interaction between HEIs and businesses will ensure permanent cooperation and help the former to constantly adapt the curricula to the changing needs of the job market.
AGORA will tackle the following concrete issues concerning transnational placement in Europe:
- existing obstacles to international mobility arising from different legal provisions for internships and insurance schemes, which can be overcome with the help of national contact points;
- support for students who cannot participate in transnational placement because of the lack of financial means through a co-financing system.