Translation Centre brings IATE3 to the Multilingualism EU Summer School 2026 | Translation Centre For the Bodies of the EU

The Multilingualism EU Summer School is a yearly event that brings together recent graduates in translation, interpreting and law from across Europe for an immersive introduction to the work of the EU institutions. Its aim is to give participants a concrete sense of how multilingualism functions in practice across the language services of the EU, through sessions devoted to areas such as editing for media services, translation of audit reports, interpreting in judicial settings and terminology, including the growing role of new technologies.

Engaging with the next generation of language professionals

This year’s Summer School took place from 6 to 10 July and once again demonstrated the EU institutions’ shared commitment to promoting multilingual excellence and attracting future language professionals.

The Translation Centre was represented at this year’s edition by Corina Ionescu (Linguistic Services Department) and Juan Carlos Gil-Berrozpe (IATE Support and Development team).

After a brief presentation of the Centre, Corina handed over to Juan Carlos, who led the workshop on “Smarter Terminology Management with IATE3”.

IATE – interinstitutional cooperation at its best

A key message of the workshop was that terminology is not limited to lists of technical words. In specialised fields, it plays a central role in standardising concepts, reducing ambiguity and ensuring that experts, institutions and citizens understand the same thing when the same term is used.

In the EU context, this has particular importance. Clear and consistent terminology supports the multilingual drafting of legislation and policy documents, while also helping to make EU texts more transparent and accessible to the public.

IATE-Multilingualism EU Summer School 2026-Corina — Corina Ionescu (Linguistic Services Department)

This is where IATE, the EU’s interinstitutional terminology management system administered by the Translation Centre, comes into focus.

As Juan Carlos explained, IATE is much more than a terminology database: it is a shared resource developed and maintained through cooperation between EU institutions to support consistency across languages and domains. The scale of the system reflects its strategic importance: IATE is one of the largest terminology management systems in the world and an essential tool for multilingual drafting and translation.

Smarter Terminology Management with IATE3

The workshop also offered participants a practical look at the newest version of the platform, IATE3, released in December 2025. Through a live demonstration, they were introduced to the new interface, basic and advanced search features, and the workflows used to create and complete terminology entries. This hands-on approach gave attendees a clearer understanding of how terminology is managed in practice and how digital tools can support both quality and efficiency in language work.

Particularly interesting was the presentation of IATE’s experimental AI-based features. While firmly rooted in expert knowledge and interinstitutional collaboration, terminology management is clearly evolving alongside technological change. The message was not that technology replaces human expertise, but that well-designed tools can help terminology professionals work more efficiently and more collaboratively.

Overall, the workshop offered an engaging and forward-looking perspective on a field that underpins much of the EU’s multilingual activity. For the participants at the Summer School, it was a reminder that terminology is not a background task, but a vital part of ensuring precision, coherence and trust in multilingual communication. In that sense, “Smarter Terminology Management with IATE3” was not only a presentation of a tool, but also a reflection of the wider EU goal to make multilingual communication more effective with the support of innovation.