The Scuola Superiore di Lingue Moderne per Interpreti e Traduttori has developed into a fully-fledged university faculty offering first degree courses in translation and interpreting in a variety of language combinations. Trieste occupies a strategic geographical position at the crossroads of Western and Eastern Europe and is thus ideally placed for the development of courses designed to foster international relations. In addition to the range of European Union languages on offer, and given the ethnic and multilingual nature of its community, the School offers translation and interpreting courses in Slovenian, Serb/Croat and Russian. First degree courses in translation and interpreting are largely profiled here against the needs of the European community and the local linguistic reality. The discussion also touches upon aspects of research into translation and interpreting, including the difficulties of designing aptitude tests for students wishing to specialize in interpreting, and of assessing the results of such tests.