ABSTRACT
Intensive research in the field of public service interpreting and translation (PSIT) has evolved in response to major migration waves. The degree of institutionalisation and the structure of PSIT training and certification in the countries concerned is very diverse. The countries of Central Europe have only recently been confronted with a greater need for PSIT. Therefore, PSIT in this region is hardly legally defined and minimally institutionalised. In the past decade, a series of relatively institutionalised activities in the field of PSIT training have appeared in some countries. In order to provide more insight into PSIT in Central Europe, the chapter focuses, based on the author's background, on the situation in Slovakia and places this description in the broader context by comparison with the situation in the Czech Republic, Austria, and Poland. These insights form the basis for formulating some recommendations for efficient and sustainable training within and outside academia and have stimulated the design of the first additional university training programme for PSIT in Slovakia, which is described in the last part of this chapter.
