Bath students complete UN internships in the Big Apple
Four language students from the University of Bath have completed internships at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York this summer, the only students to be selected from the UK.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Four language students from the University of Bath have completed internships at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York this summer, the only students to be selected from the UK.
They are the first students to work at the headquarters since the UN’s pledge to Bath to build professional links with the University to help train students for competitive language exams, when the UN signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February 2009.
The summer intern scheme recruits 200 highly qualified students from around the world to spend eight weeks in the UN offices.
The group of Bath students were: three interpreting students Eithne Bradley, David Coghill and Natalia Diaz, studying for an MA in interpreting and translation in French and Russian; and Peter Methven, studying for an MA in Translation & Professional Language Skills.
The students were able to attend conferences and meetings and contributed to meeting records and reports, including meetings on the UN resolution concerning weapons of mass destruction.
The Bath students were welcomed to the UN by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. He thanked all the interns for bringing fresh ideas and perspectives to the UN and described them as the young leaders of tomorrow.
He said “I’m sure you’ll be returning home with a great sense of pride and achievement.”
Eithne Bradley, one of the interpreting students, said: “It’s been a huge experience for all of us. The staff have been wonderful and we’ve all enjoyed being in New York. It’s been quite an experience to see all these famous places and even work in one of them.”
Elena Kidd, Director of Studies in the University’s Department of European Studies & Modern Languages, said: “They are extraordinarily talented students and this was a fantastic opportunity for them. We are very proud that the Bath group of interpreting students is the only group from the UK and that the UN trainers think very highly of them. They refer to our students as one of the strongest groups they have ever had on their programme .
“I’d like to thank the staff who dedicated so much time and effort throughout the year and after their final exams to prepare them for the experience.
“We are grateful to the UN headquarters’ interpreters and translators and everyone else who helped us in the first year of the UN’s Outreach programme.”
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