About Us
IKIGAI is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization created to provide subsidized and affordable education and training for proficient bilingual individuals so they may become qualified and competent interpreters, principally in courts and other legal settings.
We are funded through grants, direct donations, sales of instructional materials, and registration fees for courses.
It is part of IKIGAI's mission to help its students offset the cost of certification examinations through a scholarship fund.
The Institute offers a state-of-the-art curriculum based on the latest research in the field of interpreting studies and develops educational materials together with practical training aids based on actual court transcripts and authentic texts from other legal settings.
All our instructors and consultants are either interpreters certified by the U.S. Courts, academics in the fields of interpreting studies and linguistics, or both.
Part of IKIGAI's mission is also to engage with the community of stakeholders and users of language services to educate about the importance of competent and qualified interpreters in every legal proceeding, whether in court or out of court.
We provide information about careers in translation and interpreting for students in foreign language programs, virtually and in person, whether they are in high school or in a university-level program.
We also have information available through this website about Language Access laws and the rights of Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals to receive quality interpreting and translation services from qualified and competent interpreters and translators, particularly from public agencies.
All information is free and can be found in the Community Outreach page or the Career Days page.