At Global Connects, we are committed to empowering young people with opportunities to improve their workplace readiness and enhance their career prospects. One of the ways we do this is by mentoring university students who are studying languages and giving them insight into the translation industry.
Cara, a University of Strathclyde undergraduate student, joined us in November and December this year to put her French skills to the test. Below is a snapshot of her experience in her own words. Don’t forget to check out her fundraiser for Dig Deep to support water infrastructure for remote communities in Kenya!
1. Why did you want to take up an internship with Global Connects?
With some input from my placement tutor at Strathclyde, I investigated various language service providers across Scotland. After doing some research on the Global Connects website, I instantly knew it’d be the best choice for an internship for me, so I emailed as soon as I could.
In being the main supplier under the Scottish Government Interpreting, Translation and Transcription Service Framework Agreement, as well as being in the heart of Glasgow and Scottish-owned, I knew that Global Connects would be the best place to put my French language skills to the test within a public sector translation environment. As Scotland is such a diverse place, I wanted to be able to apply what I’ve learnt whilst in university to help others, and Global Connects helped me to do so.
2. What did you learn in your time here with us?
During my time at Global Connects, I learnt so many useful skills! I learnt both what CAT tools are and how to use them, memoQ specifically, and how useful they can be for professional translators. I also learnt how to be an efficient project manager, something I had never done before. This helped me massively to develop my time management skills. My competency with French has greatly improved as I’ve worked on translations and received valuable feedback from others on the team. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work on different types of texts and translations to what I’ve worked on whilst in university and to get a great insight into what project management entails. Working with the lovely Global Connects team has helped me to grow and learn some key skills needed to progress in this industry.
3. What surprised you the most about working with us?
The thing that surprised me the most was the volume and content of projects that Global Connects receives. It was a big change going from manual translations in an academic environment to using CAT tools and translating a vast range of different texts in the public sector. I was also surprised at how much a Project Manager must do and how essential they are to keeping things running smoothly.
4. What will you be working on now?
As I approach the end of the final year of my Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in English & Creative Writing and French, I will be working on my dissertation as well as all the assignments for my classes. Most importantly, I will be working on constantly improving my French to hopefully pursue a DPSI and/or Masters in Translation and Interpreting!
Alongside this, I will continue my fundraising efforts for the charity Dig Deep who work in Bomet County, Kenya. 50% of the funds will go directly to Dig Deep – the other 50% will go to the expedition costs involved in climbing Mount Kilimanjaro (not including flights, visas, etc.). I will be using the language and project management skills that I have learnt and developed both at university and with Global Connects to fundraise, plan events and ensure a successful climb. Please click this link to my fundraising page to find out more. Any donations are greatly appreciated!
We really enjoyed working with Cara, particularly introducing her to handwritten manual translation projects and the weird and wonderful world of formatting. We wish Cara all the best with her studies, career and fundraising and are sure we will see her in language services again soon!