The URV former student and translator for the European Commission, Helena Romero, shares her experience in sessions with students at the University

The University Master’s Degree in Professional Translation between English and Spanish has received accreditation from the European Master’s in Translation (EMT) network, which is a project run by the European Commission and universities to improve the quality of training and to help young graduates to enter the evolving translation job market. To meet these goals, the network establishes a series of standards regarding the curriculum, teaching, the preparation of students, and infrastructures.

The fact that the URV is a member of this network means that students on the Master’s Degree in Translation have access to a higher level of training. They can carry out internships in the Department of Spanish at the Commission’s General Directorate of Translation, access the European Union’s translation software, participate in specific forums and workshops, and learn about the experiences of translators who work for the European Commission through sessions taught at the University.

Helena Romero, URV former student and translator for the European Commission

One of these translators at the European Commission is Helena Romero, who has completed the URV’s Bachelor’s Degree in English and its University Master’s Degree in Professional Translation between English and Spanish. This week she has visited the University and has held various sessions for students on the master’s degree and on the Double Degree in Law and Business Administration and Management. Since 2016, Romero has worked for the Department of Spanish at the EC translating technical texts such as regulations regarding health or socioeconomic issues from English to Spanish.

Romero told the students about the importance of translation in the EC:  “Because legislation is constantly being drawn up for new areas where there is no existing legislation, our work consists of finding the correct vocabulary without making any mistakes. This is important because an error in translation can lead to a country incorrectly implementing a given law. For example, a Spanish company could end up acting in accordance with what I have translated instead of what was stipulated in the original text”.

Over the course of various sessions, she has told URV students about the professional opportunities available to work in translation for the European Union, the translation tools that are used by the Commission and the grants that they can apply for, such as the one offered by the European Master’s Degree in Translation, of which the URV is now a participant.