The summer course for beginning literary translators is intended for students of Finnish language and culture in universities outside Finland who are at the end of their studies or newly graduated and oriented towards translation as a profession.
Students sitting on the stairs of the University of Helsinki main building
Photo: Satu Haavisto

 

 

The translation course is organised in cooperation with the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) and the Finnish Literature Exchange FILI. The course is held in Helsinki every other year in August. The upcoming course, now open for applications, will be held from August 18 to August 29, 2025.

During the course, you will attend lectures and participate in workshops in which you will translate mainly literary texts. The programme also includes meetings with writers and visits.

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You can apply for a place on the translation course if

  • you study Finnish language and culture in a university outside Finland
  • you are at the end of your studies or newly graduated
  • you are oriented towards translation as a profession and you have some experience on translation
  • your level of proficiency in Finnish is very good, and
  • you can understand different nuances in Finnish literary texts.

You also need to have a sample of a text you have translated. Your sample could have been published, for example, in an anthology, a literary magazine or another publication. We can accept unpublished translations, too, if you have acquired a statement for its quality from a translation expert whose native language is the same as yours. Translation samples do not need to be sent to EDUFI. It is enough that the teacher providing the recommendation will have seen the published translation or the statement given about the translation.

We select 10-15 participants on the course. FILI may also select some participants who may not meet all the above criteria.

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Fill out the Webropol form (only in Finnish) no later than January 15, 2025 before 16.15 (local time in Finland, UTC+2). Ask your teacher to complete the recommendation form found on this page and send it to hakemukset_skk (at) oph.fi by the same deadline, January 15, 2025. (If you have difficulty obtaining the recommendation on time, please contact: rita.granat (at) oph.fi.)

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The course director and a representative from FILI will select the most suitable applicants for an interview. The selection criteria include factors such as Finnish language proficiency, experience in reading fiction (including Finnish-language literature), and the applicant's native language. After remote interviews, a maximum of 16 participants will be chosen for the course.

Applicants will be informed of the selection results by March 17, 2025, at the latest.

Those selected for the course will receive instructions for pre-course assignments well in advance.

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Tuition on the course, the course material and accommodation are free of charge. NB: Accommodation is offered free of charge for the entire month of August 2025.

You can also apply for a travel grant from EDUFI. To apply for the travel grant, you will need to state this in the relevant section of the application form.

If a selected participant resides in Finland, they are not eligible for a travel grant or, typically, for accommodation funded by the Finnish National Agency for Education.

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Contact person

Rita Granat, rita.granat [at] oph.fi

 

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