The increase in student mobility which has taken place over the last fifty years, and particularly in the past twenty years in the European context, is a subject of special relevance for translation curricula. This thesis draws primarily on the fields of translator training, student mobility and culture shock and evaluates two specific programmes, those established between the Moscow State Linguistic University and two Spanish universities: Universidad de Granada and Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, respectively. The main aim is to evaluate the contribution of these mobility programmes to the training of future translators as intercultural mediators. The study focuses mainly on the motivations, expectations and perceptions of all participants: students, teachers and coordinators. Data have been elicited through personal interviews, and the results have been analyzed using a qualitative approach. They outline the profiles of translation students in Russia and Spain and explore the mobility experience from a wide range of perspectives, both personal and academic. The results show strong differences in the students’ experiences depending on the direction of mobility. Thus, whereas Russian students adapt easily to their host country, Spanish students find more difficulties regarding their new culture and environment. Following the U-curve theory used to describe the cross-cultural adjustment process in a host culture, Russian students go through all the stages suggested and produce in general a U-curve. However, the Spanish students do not experience all stages of culture shock, notably missing out on the initial stage of euphoria and often not reaching the final stages of adaptation; their experience can generally be best described as a J-curve. According to the study, more attention should be paid to prior orientation (language skills, cultural empathy and previous knowledge about culture shock) and to the implementation of strategies in order to facilitate effective cultural adaptation, which is considered an essential part of becoming an effective translator. [Source: abstract in journal]