Laura Holcomb of the Glendon MCI and Lauren Michaels of the Ottawa MCI have joined forces to bring you Colab Toronto, a week-long practice intensive for conference interpreting professionals.

Colab is called an intensive because you will indeed spend the majority of the day in the booth or with your notepad. But Colab also relies on Colab-oration: participants support their colleagues by taking a turn as a presenter and offering feedback to colleagues with their language combination.

An amazing opportunity to meet other professionals and students who are willing to practice in a safe and fun environment.

-Past Colab Participant

Inspired by Brazil’s Hiit Course and similar to Europe’s WISE workshop, Colab provides a structure for both newly minted and seasoned professionals to hone skills, experiment, and explore new territory in a way that’s difficult to do on the job.

We think of Colab as our yearly training camp, where we can play with certain language combinations, subject domains, and modalities. It also serves as a chance to learn from our colleagues and challenge any fixed ideas of ourselves and our vocation.

Colab is also about community. After spending a week in the trenches with both freelancers and staffers, alums from a neighboring MCI, interpreters of varied linguistic backgrounds and places they call home, you’ll come away with an expanded network at the least, if not a few lifelong friends.

Other course highlights include our Reporting Live! peer news segment, a Toronto cultural outing, group happy hour, and a final celebratory Colab meal together.