First Regional Elia Exchange Initiative Forum Held in Osijek

On 19 December 2014, the first Elia Exchange initiative Western Balkans regional forum was held in Osijek. The initiative has been launched by the European Language Industry Association (Elia), and its general objective is to strengthen cooperation between the academic community and the translation industry.

The forum hosted by the first host faculty – the Faculty of Philosophy in Osijek – drew representatives of universities based in Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia, as well as representatives of the industry headquartered in Croatia and Slovenia. Some of the main discussion topics pertained to undergraduate and graduate translation study programme quality and type, open-doors days hosted by companies in the region, opportunities for professional training of students during and after completion of their study, as well as the EE on-line database containing students, universities and companies which are ready to provide internships to translation graduates.

Ciklopea, acting as the Western Balkans regional coordinator, successfully presented the EE initiative and directed the forum in cooperation with the Faculty of Osijek. We would like to thank the host Faculty and all participants for the presentation of their own programmes, and for high-quality and productive discussion, as well as their readiness for continued cooperation in 2015.