In Localization Practicum (TRLM 8695), second-year Translation and Localization Management students partner with non-profit organizations to help them expand globally through localizing and translating content into other languages.
Over the winter break, the students will be forming small localization teams, which are essentially translation and localization agencies. Students need to fill many roles, such as Account Manager, Vendor Manager, Project Manager, Terminology Manager, Engineering, Desktop Publishing, Quality Assurance/Testing and even Translator/Editor. These roles are necessary to complete localization projects, which are all too often much more complicated that they initially appear.
Once they have their teams, they will start looking for a non-profit partner from somewhere in the world that needs some help with the localization of a website, printed formats (brochure, book, poster, etc.), digital formats (ebook, banner ads, etc.), or applications (web, mobile or desktop). Students can also look for consulting projects that involve custom workflows or even training.
Previous non-profit partners have included Friends of Hearst Castle, Computer History Museum, MBARI, Endangered Languages Project, NCOSE, Global Heritage Fund, Mifan Mama, Give2Asia, Sino Atlas, Loaves, Fishes & Computers, Tyler Robinson Foundation, Butterfly Children’s Hospice, IGDA, API Equality – Northern California, The Association France-Russie, and Special Kids Crusade.
At the end of the course, students will prepare a presentation that introduces their non-profit partner and demonstrates the work performed over the semester. The presentation is broadcast live, and is archived on YouTube (see the Spring 2016 presentations, part one and part two.
If you know of a non-profit that is thinking about expanding into other markets through translation, please refer them to Professor Troyer, who teaches the Localization Practicum course and consults with students on the projects they complete for their non-profit partners. Non-profits can be put in touch with a group of localization students by submitting a short project brief. For more information, contact Professor Troyer.