Ciklopea Summer School 2015: More Stories

The first Ciklopea Summer School ended on a high note and during the previous weeks you have had the opportunity to read the personal testimonies by some of the Summer School attendees. The closing blog post of this series features the testimonials of the attendees from Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mirza Dindić, Bosnia and Herzegovina

„Coming from a country which lacks a real agency and by that fact alone, all the necessary tools a translator needs to possess as a part of his/her knowledge, Ciklopea Summer School 2015 provided me with key knowledge every student, not only student but also people who graduated, needs to have in order to be competitive on the market. I have acquired knowledge about CAT tools and QA tools as well. However, all of that knowledge would mean nothing, if we have not had a practice which involved translating texts from different areas (from medicine, technology, industry, IT to basic manuals of different sort) while working in CAT and QA tools. Also, I had unique experience of seeing firsthand how one agency works and what kind of jobs one could aim for in the future. It gave me an opportunity to see that, contrary to popular belief that one who decides to study English language and literature must be a teacher, I can opt for being a translator and be successful as well..“

Barbara Omahen, Slovenia

„ I have to admit that I had had my doubts about the whole thing before the school started, as my previous experiences from similar projects were not really great. The supervisors used to be busy and never seemed to have the time enough for the attendees who were left on their own. However, all my doubts were gone really soon. We learned how to work in CAT tools that I had never used beore and attended the useful lectures and workshops that helped us understand the work at a professional translation agency.

The attitude of the employees was largely relaxed and positive and the good working atmosphere that could be felt in the air spread on the attendees. I was pleasantly surprised. A supervisor was always there for us, ready to advise us on various technical matters and dilemmas. We followed the guidelines and received feedback information.”

Ana Mateja Vuković, Croatia

„The lectures were exceptionally conceived, interesting and informative. After we had been introduced to the professional terminology of translating and to the basics of CAT tools, we had the practice work on texts from various areas – tourism, marketing, medicine, IT and many more. What really helped us make a steady progress during the two weeks of the Summer school was the analysis of our translated texts and the proofreading reports we received daily. Thus, we had clear feedback information on good linguistic solutions, but also about the areas we may have improve at. In addition to the real translation and proofreading projects, we also got introduced to the professional translation work and the possible occupations and career developments. Being a soon-to-graduate student on the threshold of the professional world, the school gave me an excellent insight into what is ahead of me and helped me decide on my future occupation.“

And all the Summer school attendees agree on the final opinion:

„We heartily recommend Ciklopea summer school to all who consider the career of a professional translator, as it provides an important, professional and educational experience that will surely help in further achievement of professional goals.“