ROAR

Join us for an insightful interview with Vanesa, a seasoned professional in the field of localization. From her journey into the language services industry to her current role as Localization Quality Manager at Acclaro, Vanesa shares her experiences, challenges, and the unique dynamics of her position. Discover the intricacies of quality management, the essential skills required, and the impact of technology on enhancing project quality. Whether you're aspiring to be a Quality Manager or simply curious about the behind-the-scenes of localization, Vanesa's perspective offers valuable insights. Don't miss this opportunity to delve into the world of language services with a seasoned expert.

In this episode, Nina Hampton sits down with Rebecca Guttentag, a localization producer at Riot Games, talks about her journey into games localization, workflows and processes associated with producing and localizing a AAA game, the structure of Riot's localization team, what makes it good localization producer, and why you shouldn't be afraid to admit that you don't know something.

Listen in to hear more about the world of Games Localization.

One of many things that soon-to-be graduates worry about is how to apply the skills and knowledge obtained in the classroom to the real world. Entry level positions are no longer truly "entry level"- future graduates will need to go in with ideas at the ready. So how can future graduates implement things, such as localizability checks and content briefs, that were learned in classes and inject them into the company?

In this episode, we talk to Yelena Proskurin, Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS), about her experience implementing new workflows and processes during her professional career and how future graduates can apply the topics that they learned during their time at MIIS to entry level job positions.

When entering the Localization Industry, one is often asked, "Do you want to work on the client side or vendor side?" More often than not, the response is usually client side. Deciding whether to aim for the client side or vendor side can be a big decision. We sat down with Winnie Heh, Career Advisor at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey focused in helping students in the Language industry, to discuss her experience and knowledge of the two great halves of Localization. Winnie speaks on the perceived differences in working conditions many have regarding the client and vendor side. 

Now that we are in the third year of the covid-19 pandemic, remote working becomes the new norm for many people all over the world. How does the localization industry incorporate this shift? What are some benefits and difficulties managing a localization team in remote? Join us with Raffaella Buschiazzo, who is a localization director at Salesforce and learn how she and her team manage the transition.

Our passions can lead us anywhere we let them take us. Join us in this episode of ROAR as the co-founder of a computer-assisted translation software Termsoup Joanne Chou takes us through her journey from a translator to an entrepreneur. She will share how her experience as a translator and a UI/UX designer helped her during this transition and how staying in touch with the community can drive the improvement.

Welcome back to ROAR: Deep Dive—a podcast produced by the Middlebury Institute’s Translation and Localization Management Program, bringing together global voices from the Localization industry. In this episode, we have the great privilege of hearing from Aki Ito, CEO of Localization Guy LLC and rock musician, for a very special conversation about career and personal development. With thought provoking conversation Aki encourages us to take a step back from the stress-ridden details of career planning and learn to see ourselves, and our own place in the world, from a wider perspective. Aki shares with us his own story of career development, the lessons he’s learned along the way, and how those lessons have brought him to his current dream of becoming a rock star. Even for people not in the localization industry, this is one message from an industry leader that is sure to inspire.

Have you thought about exploring more career opportunities in the localization industry? Ann Chen, the business development manager at BLEND—a language service provider, is responsible for maintaining a positive relationship with clients and actively seeking out potential new clients. Throughout her journey in the localization industry, she has taken on many roles including freelancer, project manager, and business development specialist. In this episode, Ann shared how she prepared for each transition and what are necessary qualifications of a BDM.

Welcome back to ROAR: Speed Bumps—a podcast produced by the Middlebury Institute's Translation and Localization Management Program, bringing together global voices from the Localization industry. In this episode, we had the pleasure of talking with Sachi Salehi, a recent graduate of MIIS and a new translator at SEGA. Sachi shares with us her journey through MIIS to her position, what her education has helped her with, and what she wishes she had done differently to be better prepared. Both industry veterans and newbies should gain lots of insight into how Sachi's localization background brought her to this translation position.

In this episode, we have the pleasure to interview Katherine Huang, an International Strategist and Change Leader with over 20 years of experience in planning and executing global and local initiatives and programs. She has led a successful career at Adobe, acting as the chief strategist and champion of the Chinese market for Adobe Creative Cloud, and developed a team that grew international revenue by 50%. In this episode, she talked in detail about her career, how she started, what she has learned, what her passion is and how to get to where she is right now. Being an avid language enthusiast, a believer in cross-cultural communication, and a passionate entrepreneur, Katherine shares with us her journey in the localization industry. 

For this episode of ROAR: Deep Dives, we talk to Ryan Holmberg, a comic historian and translator of alternative manga, best known for his work on the alternative manga magazine Garo. Ryan talks to us about how he found himself in this industry and how he'd like to see things change as interest in manga grows. If you'd like to see more from Ryan, be sure to follow him on Instagram at @mangaberg.

Have you ever wonder what it is like to manage different unique languages in which you have yet to develop full proficiency? David Mohr, an international quality engineer at Adobe, is responsible for supporting 26 languages and dealing with internationalization-related issues in adobe products. In this episode, David shared a myriad of linguistic and cultural challenges he has encountered in his work, how he built himself up by putting in the efforts to solve these issues, and how important it is to develop a deep understanding and have respect for cultures different from your own. 

In this episode, we explore the responsibilities and challenges of a product manager with Thomas Hung who is a project management lead at West cost operation. Production Management is a multifaceted role that requires a person to develop multiple core competencies. If you are curious about the responsibilities of the production manager, and what does it take to manage multiple operations and challenging clients? How is it different from project management? Listen to Thomas as he talks about his career trajectory and how he handles daily challenges as a project management lead. 

Freelance translation and interpretation is no walk in the park. Not every project is straight-forward and not all project managers are created equal. Listen in as Salim Martell (May 2020 graduate of the Translation and Localization Management Program at MIIS) and Chiyo Mori (Japanese Interpretation professor at MIIS and freelancer) while they discuss the unique challenges freelancers face when completing projects for localization providers.

How can you balance your social life and employment while functioning in the Localization industry? Listen in as Vanessa Prolow and Lina Yan Ning (both 2020 graduates from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies) discuss balance with Kayla Muñoz, a localization manager at Desmos, a math software developer.

In this podcast, Sherine Emara, Nadya Rodionova, Kimberly Zie interviewed MIIS alumna, Alicia Dominick, who is a Linguist and Project Manager at SoundHound. They discuss Alicia’s path from linguist to project manager and she gives tips on how to be a versatile, team player. Technological skills are crucial in the localization industry, and sometimes serve as a speedbump for professionals without a strong computer science background.

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Everyone’s journey into the localization industry is distinct. Join Kaixin as she discusses career paths with Marie Flacassier, the co-founder and COO of BeatBabel, and Burckhardt Reuffer, co-founder and CEO of BeatBabel, a translation and localization company based in San Diego, California. As veterans of the localization industry, Marie and Burckhardt share their perspective on some of the challenges the industry currently faces.

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Silvia Avary-Silveira, Head of Localization at Juniper Networks,  describes the challenges of getting funding with Siliva and Alex (Translation and Localization Management 2020 graduates from MIIS). They discuss strategies on how to petition funding from stakeholders and their potential speedbumps. Listen in to learn how to get the funding your team needs.

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In 2019, the global gaming market skyrocketed to unseen heights at a staggering $152 billion worldwide revenue, with 2020 numbers predicted to reach even higher at $165 billion. As the global population of gamers ranging from casual to competitive continues to grow, the need for thoughtful localization practices in the industry has become more imperative now than ever.

In this month’s episode of ROAR, the team sits down with Ainara Echaniz, a Senior Localization Producer at CD Projekt Red to talk about her experience working on the Witcher series of games, and discuss just how important a globally-aware localization mindset can be to leveling up a game’s success abroad.

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Ever wonder what skills you need to localize a website? Listen as Vicky Yu (Translation & Localization Management, Class of 2020) interviews Felicia Huang, a localizer from Nordic Naturals, a nutrient and supplement provider. They will discuss some of the challenges of website localization and address Felicia’s unlikely journey into the localization industry.

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In this episode, we set out to explore the incredibly complex world of dubbing, a profession torn between the localization and entertainment industries. In here, you will be able to understand this profession much better by listening to two renowned voice actors, Moon Namsook from South Korea and Humberto Velez from Mexico, discuss the ins and outs of dubbing and the challenges and opportunities that fill this dynamic profession with buzz and excitement.

We touch upon the skills required to succeed in such a role as well as the critical role that passion and discipline play. As you can imagine, becoming a successful voice actor requires hard training, lots of patience, and a lot of love for the job and the characters you play.

Technology is another topic impacting the industry, so our two experts will guide you through the developments they have encountered and how they have had an impact in their jobs.

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Localization Evangelization

In today’s episode, we had the pleasure of talking about the backbone of every industry, including localization - money. Our guest today, Jon Ritzdorf, is an industry veteran, currently holding the title of a Senior Solutions Architect at RWS Moravia. Contrary to the usual perception of finance, accounting, there is actually so much creativity and ingenuity involved in his work, where he tries to understand the client’s and project’s individual needs and find ways to measure the efforts needed to bring the ideas alive. He talked to us about how the understanding of the localization business changes on the client-side, how to communicate efficiently when talking language products and money, and why the essential elements of every business, including localization, still boils down to the human element.

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Host: Ghio Anton. Guest: Melvin Su.

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When we think about Artificial Intelligence in the language services industry, most people will immediately jump to the idea of machine translation. Tools such as Google Translate and Baidu Multilingual have popularized the image of AI as a linguistic tool, but the possibilities of machine-assistance in the localization industry reach far more broadly than just that. There is endless potential for AI to help assist project management, quality assessment, desktop publishing, and so much more if we just think a little bit outside of the box. In this episode, we talked to Max Troyer, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, about his predictions for AI beyond translation and how he’s preparing the students in his program for that future.

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