The University of Alicante is offering the first microcredential in Russian and Ukrainian Translation and Interpretation in Torrevieja.

Thanks to an agreement between Torrevieja City Council and the University of Alicante (UA), through the Department of Translation and Interpreting and the UA Headquarters in Torrevieja, the first micro-credential, "Fundamentals for the Practice of Interpreting in Public Services," is being offered. These university courses, new to Torrevieja, are primarily aimed at people with advanced knowledge of less widely spoken languages, preferably Russian and Ukrainian, who wish to acquire initial training in interpreting and translation, as well as people who are working as interpreters in intrasocial or public service contexts and do not have any academic training in interpreting.

The province of Alicante in general, and municipalities such as Torrevieja, Ciudad Quesada, and Orihuela in particular, are characterized by their marked multicultural and multilingual character. It ranks third nationally in terms of foreign resident population, both relative and absolute. In the Vega Baja region, the foreign population reaches 36%, and half of this (49.5%) is concentrated in Torrevieja and Orihuela. In the case of Torrevieja, with a population exceeding 110,000, 49.74% of its inhabitants are originally from 122 countries, with Ukrainian (over 10,000), Russian (over 6,000), and British (over 5,000) being the most common, in that order.

Given this situation, the use of professional interpreters is an optimal option for bridging the linguistic and cultural gap in access to public services for allophone citizens. However, there seems to be a certain lack of awareness about the added value that the professional interpreter can provide in communication between public service providers and these allophone groups. At best, linguistic intermediation schemes are chosen, with some overlap of professional functions and the use of personnel who do not always have specific training in interpreting.

This micro-credential will offer applied theoretical and practical training with a distinctly professional focus for interpreting in public services. The goal is to equip students with the technical skills and abilities necessary to handle, with a minimum of guarantees, interpreting assignments on a variety of topics specific to public services, especially those managed or provided by local and municipal authorities.

Throughout its 100 teaching hours, which can be exchanged for 10 ECTS (optional or free-choice credits), students will acquire knowledge and develop skills that will allow them to have a professional framework of reference and guarantee the rights of allophone citizens in accessing public services, as well as in-person university education.

Pre-registration for this micro-credential is open until mid-October on this website https://cfp.ua.es/es/microcredencialesua/2025-2026/fundamentos-para-la-practica-de-la-interpretacion-en-servicios-publicos.html

Classes will be held in person in Torrevieja, starting on November 7th and ending on February 27th, 2026. They will be held on Fridays, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and Saturdays from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM. The teaching staff is interdisciplinary, interuniversity, and professional, coming from the University of Alicante and other universities such as the UGR, UJI, ULL, and UM, from the business sector, and also includes municipal technicians. The fee is €300. For more information, please contact cursos.cfpua@ua.es.