MATI Translators Lead Workshops at University of Wisconsin-Madison

By Erin Woodard, MATI Member

Milwaukee- and Madison-based French into English translators Meghan McCallum and Erin Woodard each led workshops this fall for the Professional French Master’s Program (PFMP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

 

The PFMP is an interdisciplinary master’s degree program that allows students to study French alongside a specific concentration area including higher education, business, European Union affairs, international development, and media/arts/cultural production. Students complete graduate-level coursework before completing a professional internship abroad at a French-speaking organization whose work is related to the candidate’s associated concentration area. 

The program recently restructured its concentration area coursework to incorporate professional skills workshops led by university faculty, staff, and outside professionals in the field. Adding the new workshops allows PFMP candidates to gain a deeper understanding of concepts required for their concentration-area learning, as well as provide them with specific professional skills.

Of the workshops offered in the fall semester, MATI Vice President Meghan McCallum led the Translation Techniques and Strategies workshop, and MATI member and PFMP alumna Erin Woodard led the Introduction to Budgeting and Forecasting workshop. Each workshop met for a total of 15 hours throughout the semester. Students were exposed to a variety of translation and budgeting concepts, respectively, and had the opportunity to hone their skills through project-based learning.

“The PFMP students were eager to apply their language skills to translation tasks as well as editing and critiquing exercises,” Meghan said. “This workshop was an opportunity to show them the important role translators play in global marketing and communications.”

Erin added, “The workshop was a wonderful opportunity to share my professional experiences with the PFMP students. I enjoyed exposing them to budgeting concepts and having the opportunity to discuss financial tools in the workplace.”

The PFMP candidates will be starting their second set of workshops and classes in the coming weeks as they return for their spring semester. Additional information about the PFMP can be found at http://pfmp.wisc.edu/welcome.

PFMP students and instructors at a social gathering at the beginning of the fall 2016 semester.