The Freundeskreis des IALT e.V., or Friends of IALT, is a non-profit organization founded in 2003 at the initiative of some students studying at the Institute of Applied Linguistics and Translatology (IALT) at the time.
About Friends of IALT
The main concern of the organization is to support the Institute of Applied Linguistics and Translatology (IALT) at the University of Leipzig’s Faculty of Philology in its teaching and research activities. This not only includes financial support, but also and primarily the organization of events that bring the institute and the professional translation sector closer together and are meant to promote exchange between the two. In addition, Friends of IALT has made it its mission to create and maintain a network of students and alumni as well as teachers, including former ones. Another of our goals is to build bridges into the profession with support from graduates. Like other activities, this specifically benefits the institute’s students. Since the summer semester of 2007, Friends of IALT, with active support from teaching staff, has held a lecture series called “Welcome to the real world”. Alumni of the institute are invited to give interesting lectures on entering the professional world. The response from students has been very positive, and rooms tend to be packed with more than 50 people interested in the subjects.
The bodies of the organization are the executive board and the general membership meeting. More detailed information can be found in our statutes, available for you to download.
The Friends of IALT prize
On St. Jerome’s Day – the day of the patron saint of translation on September 30 – Friends of IALT announces the winners of the “Friends of IALT prize”. The prize includes a cash reward and is awarded to the two best master’s dissertations each year. The prize is presented at the graduation ceremony. For more information on St. Jerome’s Day and the prize winners, please visit our website.
Activities
The organization coordinates academic lectures and excursions that serve to give students more experience. A special highlight was the reimplementation of the graduation ceremony in the summer semester of 2008. Since then, this event has become a fixture in the academic year. It is organized by the institute, but Friends of IALT contributes as well and congratulates the graduating students on completing their master’s degree. The organization maintains close contact with IALT students, mainly through the institute’s student council, and tries to react to wishes and initiatives that the institute cannot implement for staff or organizational reasons.
How can you support Friends of IALT?
Work in the organization is voluntary. Our office is at IALT, which means we do not have costs for renting. Apart from unavoidable non-personnel costs, donations and membership fees are used for the organization’s activities. Friends of IALT cannot achieve its goals without the support of committed volunteers and donors. You do not need to be a member or donor in order to support us as a volunteer. It goes without saying, though, that new members are always welcome. Membership is open to natural and legal persons.
Since we are a non-profit organization and do not have much capital, we need to receive donations to support activities such as the graduation ceremony, lecture series, or excursions. Donors can determine how their donations are to be used by the organization. If there is no such appropriation, the organization will use the funds at their own discretion according to § 2 of the statutes. The Freundeskreis des IALT e.V. is recognized as a non‑profit by the Leipzig Tax Office. Donations are therefore tax‑deductible. You will receive a donation receipt upon receipt of your remittance.
You can become a member of Friends of IALT and support the organization with your cooperation and membership fee. We also welcome suggestions from members concerning the expansion of our range of activities or ideas for specific events.
The organization offers two types of membership: regular and sponsoring.
Regular membership
Regular members can be:
- Students, PhD candidates, and habilitation candidates of IALT
- Alumni, postdocs, and habilitated graduates of IALT and its predecessor institutes
- Current and former teaching and administrative staff of IALT and its predecessor institutes
Sponsoring membership
Sponsoring members can be:
- Other natural persons,
- Legal persons
The organization can also appoint honorary members.
Membership fee
The member fee amounts to
- 5 Euros/year for those eligible for a discount (e. g. students),
- 10 Euros/year for regular members
- At least 20 Euros/year for sponsoring members (natural persons)
- At least 50 Euros/year for sponsoring members (legal persons).
You can resign at the end of the fiscal year. You must report your resignation to the executive board at least three months before the end of the fiscal year.
If you would like to become a member, you can find our membership application (German pdf) here. Please print out the application and send it by mail to the Institute of Applied Linguistics and Translatology. We would be delighted to welcome you as a friend.
Please transfer your yearly membership fee for Friends of IALT (10 Euros for regular members, 5 Euros for students) to the following account at Leipziger Volksbank eG at the beginning of the year
- IBAN DE69 8609 5604 0307 7975 00
- BIC GENODEF1LVB.
Executive board
The executive board of Friends of IALT is comprised of the chair, the secretary, the treasurer, an observer from the institute, and an observer from the student body. The members of the executive board are elected at the general membership meeting for a period of two years. They may also be reelected.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the executive board are:
- Managing the organization’s affairs
- Planning the general membership meeting and implementing its decisions
- Organizing events.
The executive board of Friends of IALT works purely on a volunteer basis and carries out all content and organizational tasks without renumeration. The board regularly informs its members about the organization’s activities. In order to better to do so, a newsletter has been created. The executive board calls a general membership meeting at least every two years.
Current members
Currently, the executive board is made up of the following members:
- Prof. Dr. Sabine Bastian (Chair)
- Johannes Härtel M.A. (Deputy Chair and Treasurer)
- Anne-Kathrin D. Ende (Secretary)
- Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Baumann (Observer from the institue)