Postgraduate students at the Macao Polytechnic Institute took an intensive course in consecutive interpretation from Portuguese into Chinese and vice-versa between August 25 and September 4, the institute says.

The institute issued a written statement saying its own teachers and European Commission instructors in interpretation taught the course to students studying for master’s degrees in translating and interpreting between Portuguese and Chinese.

The polytechnic institute says the purpose was to turn out bilingual workers so China and the European Union can engage more closely.

The course was put on by the International Portuguese Training Centre for Conference Interpretation, a joint endeavour by the institute and the European Commission interpretation service which is intended to help establish Macao as a place for turning out bilingual workers.

The institute has undertaken to cooperate more with the European Commission to improve the performance of Macao interpreters, according to the Macao Polytechnic Institute statement.