By Pragya Mehrotra

The summer internship program at Modlingua was an extremely informative internship program which was supervised by Mr. Ravi Kumar who is the founder of modlingua.com. It was a program which continued for approximately three months and during this time, we learned about various topics related to the translation business.

For any freelance translator, it is very important to form a good first impression in front of potential clients. And this is mostly achieved by having an impressive profile through which the client can somewhat judge and understand the translator. Therefore, our first assignment, which was to write a profile, was a step towards learning this important skill. Other assignments and classes were on relevant topics such as networking in the translation business, online marketing, importance of a higher ranking in the Google search, quality standards, project management, etc. The classes on these topics were conducted online through the website gotomeeting.in which allowed more and more people to join and learn about the various aspects of the translation industry. Moreover, if anyone was unable to attend the meetings due to any circumstances, Youtube videos of the meetings were uploaded onto the modlingua channel so that we can access the information anywhere, at anytime. Also, many times places for any probable guests were also there so that interested people can join the meeting and learn about the topics or put forth their own points.

The second assignment was a picture assignment wherein we had to write our thoughts about a particular picture and how it was related to us as translators. This helped us make connections between the picture of a totally unrelated thing to something which was our own field. This shows that information and education about any topic whatsoever can be received from anywhere and we should always keep our minds open to interpretation.

The third assignment was broadly about marketing and promotion of modlingua and how important it is to have a higher ranking in Google search. We learned a great deal about content writing, online marketing, globalization, localization and internalization in relation with translation. For the fourth assignment, we had an interaction with Professor Ioanna Daskalopoulou who is a well known trainer for entrepreneurship for translators. We learned about entrepreneurship and personal branding. Making new clients and retaining old ones is a very important art of being a freelance translator. We learned this craft with the help of this internship and it will surely prove to be extremely helpful in our future as translators. The fifth assignment was about quality standards in translation which is an unforgettable aspect of any kind of translation. We cannot please our clients if our translation is not up to the mark and of good quality. All over the world there are many types of quality standards for translators which need to be kept in mind. The sixth assignment about project management was very informative where it was mentioned that project management is related to translation services and how it is essential for improving quality.

I personally feel that I benefited a great deal from this internship and learned about things which I could not have learned anywhere else this easily. All this information about these various topics would help me in the future when I become a professional translator. Without incorporating these aspects in the translation services that I might provide, I will not be able to reach a required level of proficiency. Most places which teach translation do not provide these side notes about management, marketing, etc. which are equally important in order to run a successful translation business. Even if one is not running their own business, knowing about these things is essential to provide a quality translation. This internship also taught me how to juggle my time between my university and this internship. These types of internships, if conducted regularly, can benefit a large number of students and professionals alike. It was a valuable experience which contributed to my growth as a translator in various fields.