Interpreters Through Times – Episode 1
February 18, 2026
Elke Schaumberger (Austria)
The first episode of Interpreters Through Times features Elke Schaumberger, Austrian Sign Language–German interpreter and university lecturer. Her testimony offers more than a personal career narrative. It raises structural questions that concern interpreter education and professional standards across Europe.
A central message runs through her reflection: a degree is not a guarantee of professional competence. It is the beginning of responsibility. Interpreter education must therefore provide strong linguistic foundations, encourage critical thinking, and prepare students for sustained professional development. Lifelong learning and mentoring after graduation are not optional additions but integral to ethical practice.
Elke also addresses the structure and level of training. Interpreter education, she argues, should be firmly anchored at university level, with recognised Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Adequate duration, academic rigour, structured curricula and research-informed teaching are essential. Competence cannot be developed in compressed or fragmented formats.
One of the strongest themes in her testimony concerns the integration of Deaf perspectives. Deaf teachers, Deaf Studies, and meaningful contact with the Deaf community must form structural components of interpreter education. Deaf educators contribute linguistic and cultural expertise that cannot be substituted. Their role is not symbolic; it defines the profession as bilingual and bicultural.
The episode further highlights the need to recognise professional interpreters as trainers within academic systems. If practising interpreters are expected to train future colleagues, their expertise, preparation time and mentoring work must be institutionally and financially acknowledged.
Finally, Elke reflects on accessibility in training and on the value of mixed Deaf and hearing interpreting teams. When coordinated properly, these teams strengthen quality through complementary linguistic experience and cultural knowledge. This is not a matter of ideology, but of professional standards.
This episode contributes to a broader reflection on how the interpreting profession has evolved, how it structures itself today, and which conditions are necessary to ensure its future quality and recognition.