This afternoon, Angela Rogner, who is a graduate from the ITAT institute, gave a guest lecture on court interpreting for the European Union. She started by telling the audience about her personal life.
When Rogner was young, she started studying to become a teacher at first, but after working as a language assistant, she decided to change to interpreting studies. As foreign languages she chose English and French, but also took Spanish courses in addition. After finishing her studies in Graz, she moved to Prag where she worked as a German teacher for non-native speakers. During her stay, she seized the opportunity to learn Czech. Thanks to the fact that the Czech language has strong similarities with Slovakian, Rogner knew six languages after spending some years in Prag.
Apart from describing the different institutions of the Court of Justice, their purpose and functions, Rogner also recounted some witty anecdotes about situations which were difficult to handle as an interpreter and explained requirements interpreters need to comply if they want to work for the EU. 
(That's the grand courtroom of the European Court of Justice. Looks impressive, doesn't it?)
If you’re interested in working for the European Court of Justice, it is definitely an advantage to know at least three languages passively, preferably one of them being French and study law or at least have some knowledge about it. According to her, the European Union encourages interpreters to learn new languages by financing language courses, professional development abroad and multicultural exchange between co-workers.
To sum up, Rogner talked about the key points of court interpreting like the organization itself, some working techniques and qualifications applicants should hold. Please keep in mind that this is only a short summary of the lasting impressions she had on me. I found her speech very inspiring and also quite interesting as I want to become an interpreter in the future.
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