Ciklopea Summer School 2015 – The Story of Miljan Miljanić

I found out about the Ciklopea Summer School from my teacher at the Institute of Foreign Languages in Podgorica. She recommended it as a great opportunity to polish and improve translation skills I gained at the university. Without a moment’s hesitation, I decided to apply. This was an ideal opportunity to familiarize with the work of a translation agency. A part of the school program was the use of CAT tools which made my desire to participate even stronger. Yet another reason to apply was the fact that I come from Montenegro: it was an opportunity to travel and meet new people as well as to share my own experience with others.

The program Ciklopea offered looked promising and I expected to learn a lot. After the end of the Summer School I realized the amount of acquired knowledge went far beyond my expectations. We touched upon all the advantages as well as downsides of a translator’s job which altogether comprise an occasionally stressful and ever-demanding, but, more importantly, intriguing and fun experience.

Ciklopea showed how a great working atmosphere and pleasant and accessible co-workers can make your own work easier and more interesting.

Being surrounded by a group of enthusiastic fellow translators was a pleasant and stimulating circumstance. On one hand, we learned how to communicate with each other and how to help each other out. On the other hand, we learned how to be independent and be able to rely on no one but yourself. Ciklopea showed me what a translation agency is and how it works. I found out what types of jobs there are in the institution as well as what each of the jobs includes and how they are all interdependent. I realized that a carefully selected team can make a powerful human machinery that is able to cope with any problem.

The end of the Summer School came in a blink of an eye. During the school, Ciklopea showed how a great working atmosphere and pleasant and accessible co-workers can make your own work easier and more interesting. Also, I came to understand that there are certain rules a translator must follow, such as respecting deadlines and following clients’ instructions, of course, within the boudaries of what is reasonable.

As a translator, you are an adventurer. You mustn’t ever stop improving your abilities. To do so, you should constantly put yourself to test and eagerly accept new challenges. That is exactly what I intend to do. Therefore, I’m looking forward to future cooperation with Ciklopea team.