Global Connects works to empower young people and help them to prepare for their future careers. We welcome students from our local communities looking to specialise in the language services industry.
Between March and May 2025, we were joined by Mohammad, a post-graduate student from the University of Strathclyde. Mohammad is interested in gaming localisation, volunteers as an interpreter for the Citizens’ Advice Service and is a native Arabic speaker. He hopes to specialise in Arabic to English translation and carried out both real-world translation tasks, proofreading and project management assignments.
Being an interpreter at the Citizens’ Advice Service meant that Mohammad was well-placed for public sector translation. He already had experience with a broad range of topics, including social work, the justice system, homelessness and health. He was able to bring an understanding of linguistic and cultural nuances between English and Arabic to his internship and help us with quickly resolving English to Arabic translation queries.
Mohammad chose to embark on the 10-week placement drawn by the opportunity to apply his academic training to a professional context whilst expanding his practical knowledge and learning from our experienced team. He was able to make connections in the world of gaming localisation and learn from a translator with over 9 years’ experience about how to start out and carve out a career in the space.
Mohammad was also about to make connections in the interpreting world, learning from our own Diana Konks about careers in public service interpreting and trading insights between Arabic and Ukrainian interpreting. Diana was also able to share insights about interpreting booking coordination at Global Connects and the different ways that we support our clients and freelance staff with efficient communication and quickly processing requests.
Along with our other students, Mohammad was a bit surprised at the workload both linguists and project managers are expected to take on each day. Students are often juggling their studies, along with part-time jobs as well as their internships which can present a challenge with a lot of different processes to remember, and the attention-to-detail required in all aspects of the jobs.
Overall, Mohammad took a lot away from the placement including the importance of responding to feedback, making connections and researching definitions of words in context. We were happy to have Mohammad on our team and would welcome his linguistic skills if he chooses to remain in the UK after his studies.
We look forward to welcoming our next student-intern in August this year.
