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• "GlobalOffice"

  This course is specifically aimed at administrative staff who are often in contact with non-English speaking customers and partners and who want to expand their comfort zone when speaking and writing English.

  You'll practice everything you might find difficult in English - managing a difficult phone call, writing short and clear emails and small talk with foreign guests. You will also build your vocabulary in your field of work and incorporate some good strategies for how to continue working on your English after the course is over.

  The course runs over 4 half days with a week between each session, so you have the opportunity to practice the techniques we work with from time to time.

  In my experience, one of the most important things for learning is to have the belief that you can. That's why I focus on creating a safe space with a maximum of 8 participants, where there is room to dare a little and to laugh together.

  Read more about our "GlobalOffice" course.

• "EnglishPlus"

  This course is aimed at those who work in an international environment and who sometimes experience misunderstandings when communicating in English.

  You learn to communicate accurately and with nuance in English. We work with linguistic and cultural issues that affect whether your message is understood by international colleagues, customers or business partners.

  During the course, we include topics relevant to the participants' work areas, and you will therefore build up a toolbox of relevant words and expressions that you can use at the end of the course.

  The course runs over 4 half days with a week between each session, so you have the opportunity to practice the techniques we work with from time to time.

  Read more about our "EnglishPlus" course.

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  Are you an international workplace where the common language is English and where misunderstandings often arise due to language challenges?

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When we write an important text that's going to be seen by a wider audience or just a small but important target group, then we'll usually want a fresh pair of eyes to go over it and catch any grammar mistakes we've made or other irregularities. Because whether we're writing in our mother tongue or a second language, we will have made mistakes.

Most people use the word 'proofread' when asking someone to review their text. If you were to ask someone working here at GlobalDenmark, they'd ask for clarification; do you need a proofreading or an editing?

Aren't they the same thing? Not at all.

What is proofreading?

Simply put, when we proofread a text, we correct grammar, punctuation and spelling errors. We also make sure that your tables are labelled and numbered correctly, and we check concordance between headings and the index.

In other words, it's the process of finding and correcting mistakes in a text before it's printed or put online.

Editing a text takes things a bit further.

What is editing?

An editor of course looks at the "surface" level issues of a text (spelling, grammar, etc.), i.e. all the issues that are included in a proofreading. However, they will also take a deeper look at the content of a text, its structure and context.

An editor will typically

ensure readability and stylistic consistency - this can include splitting long sentences, deleting unnecessary words and rephrasing sentences, without changing their substance.

make sure paragraphs and sentences stay focused and have a logical flow

identify ambiguities or inconsistencies in the use of terms

A good editor will spot the common pitfalls that obstruct your argumentation and will suggest rewordings or restructurings that can improve the text's readability.

So, which should you choose?

Whether the text needs to be proofread or edited depends on a number of factors, for example: What kind of text is it? What will it be used for? Were several authors involved in writing it? How do you rate your own ability or the abilities of your co-authors to write and structure a text?

And finally, the choice between proofreading and editing will also depend on your budget and deadline since an editing will often take longer and thus be more expensive.

Regardless, it can be hard to assess how much work your text is going to need. If you send your text to an experienced proofreader/editor, they'll be able to quickly gauge it and recommend one of the two options.

In the end though, it's always up to you to decide the level of revision you want and can afford.

Click here for more information about GlobalDenmark's proofreading and editing services.

What is the difference between proofreading and editing?

GlobalDenmark had to convert its courses to online learning in record time when it shut down on 11 March. Now, about six months later, teachers are feeling at home in the new virtual environment. Here, three of them give their take on how to give students the same good experience and academic benefit online as when they meet in person.

"All good teaching is about being present. So for me the big question was: 'Can you be present in the virtual?' And the revelation was that you can!", says Claus Adam Jarløv, Director of GlobalDenmark, who has taught business leaders, researchers and politicians in communication and international negotiation for more than 30 years.

It requires a conscious effort to give students the same experience of presence when they can only see the teacher and each other on the screen. But if the course is planned to allow for social interaction, much can be done to compensate for the social loss that comes with physical distance. This is one of the most important lessons learned at GlobalDenmark, says Claus Adam Jarløv.

An equally important point is that the same professional value can be created for participants in an online course. But this requires the trainer to be very explicit in their instructions and to give even more of themselves - so that participants can feel the engagement right through the screen.

Social gathering on the programme

"We have strict rules about how we have fun. We sometimes say to the students, 'Let's have fun and talk about something that's not relevant,'" explains Claus Adam Jarløv.

That's why time is set aside during the day for breaks where the floor is open - just like a regular course where you chat over the coffee table or lunch buffet.

Mark Simpson, who teaches written academic communication and presentation techniques at GlobalDenmark, emphasises the importance of the social and human aspect, as does Claus Adam Jarløv:

"My job as a teacher is to create intimacy and community among the participants. And one of the most interesting things I've learned is how important it is to frame the process to create a social community. I always start by saying to the students: 'What we lack online is presence. So let's commit to being present with each other. And then I can see in people's faces that they have such an aha experience."

New physical setting - but the content is basically the same

Although the physical setting is different, the essence of the teaching is the same. That's a key point," says Mark Simpson:

"The most important thing for me when I teach is that every second of the participant's time with me is relevant. And basically, it's exactly the same questions you ask yourself online as offline: is it working for you? Is my message getting through? Are you learning anything?"

The three teachers agree that it is always the content that counts, and when teaching moves online, you have to try to adapt the physical environment as best you can to give participants the same academic benefit. And the experience so far is that it is actually possible to deliver the same content and create the same value for students in the virtual space as in the physical one.

More difficult to read participants' reactions

The online format makes it more difficult to sense how students are responding to the teaching. But if you take your time and are aware of it, you can feel people's reactions even if you're not physically in the same room - at least when you're dealing with a smaller group, says Mark Simpson.

Specifically, he always asks participants - technology permitting - to turn on video in Zoom so he can see their faces, and then he continuously monitors their facial expressions. Does anyone look like they have something on their mind? Anyone who looks away or seems absent? If so, he might engage them by asking a question or asking them to give their opinion - just like in a regular physical course.

If you're dealing with a large group, it's particularly difficult to read people, says Ann Britt Donovan, who teaches academic communication and English for administrative staff:

"When you are physically present in the same room, you can almost always see if someone wants to get in touch with you, because then you have a kind of panoramic view of the room. It's difficult when you're online with a large group of 20 or more students, because you can't keep an eye on everyone on the screen at once - and there's a lot of other stuff you have to keep track of as a teacher."

A good way to alleviate this problem is to always have at least two trainers, at least if you have a lot of students. Then one can keep an eye on the participants (both the pictures on the screen and the comments in the chat), answer their questions, help with any technical problems and give the floor to those who want to chime in, while the other teacher can concentrate on the teaching itself.

Opportunities for interaction in teaching

"Normally when I teach, I can suddenly find myself asking someone a question, even if they haven't marked it", says Claus Adam Jarløv.

But when you're on Zoom, be careful not to 'unintentionally' draw participants into the discussion without warning, he warns, because when people are sitting relaxed at home at the kitchen table, it can seem overwhelming to suddenly be 'singled out' - more so than if you're sitting in a classroom and out of your private sphere. So those who don't speak up themselves can be harder to bring into the discussion when teaching has moved online, he believes.

A good way to activate students is to ask them to take part in a poll on Zoom (GlobalDenmark's preferred platform), where they have to take a stand on a particular issue, says Ann Britt Donovan. It should preferably be something very concrete, which the participants can then discuss afterwards.

And group work works at least as well online as offline, the three trainers have found. In Zoom, which they have chosen to use at GlobalDenmark, it is quick and easy to set up virtual group rooms where participants can meet and discuss a topic or work together on an assignment or text.

New requirements for the teacher

The transition to online learning has been a challenge for both teachers and students. Both parties had to get used to the new technology very quickly and it has not been without teething problems.

"It was a completely new medium for me, so at the beginning I was always worried whether I was doing it right and had remembered everything. There are many more things to keep track of than when you are in a classroom and can have your full attention on the course participants," says Ann Britt Donovan.

At the same time, she feels the need to be even more present in order to capture and hold participants' attention in the virtual space:

"You have to be up close and personal. Literally be close to the camera. What often works well on people is a live face. And you have to give a lot of yourself so that the participants can feel that you are committed to the subject," she says.

Another thing to be aware of as a teacher is to be extremely clear in your instructions. All the things that are self-explanatory or easily clarified when you are physically together need to be said out loud or stated in writing when the course is online. Therefore, before the course, participants receive very detailed descriptions of the framework of the course, and during the course the trainers are careful to be explicit about everything that happens and is going to happen:

"It's no good just saying, 'Let's take a little break. You have to say, 'Let's take a 10-minute break and then we'll meet in this online room at 10.25'," says Claus Adam Jarløv. And then you must never be quiet, adds Mark Simpson:

"For example, if you have to switch between different slideshows or find a file on your computer, you have to say out loud that that's what's happening, otherwise the students might think the connection's gone or there's something wrong with the sound."  

On the other hand, you have to be able to handle the fact that it's completely quiet at the other end, and that can be a challenge, says Claus Adam Jarløv:

"It's a strange feeling to sit and give a webinar to a large group and talk with passion and interest about a topic without knowing if anyone is listening to a word you say. And if you do come up with something that's a little bit funny, you don't know if anyone's laughing. So in that way I can sometimes feel a bit awkward in the virtual."

Good things we can take with us

Despite the various bumps and unfamiliar situations, the trainers agree that online learning is here to stay at GlobalDenmark.

"Even before corona, we had been working on offering distance-based training, for example to researchers or business people abroad. With the shutdown in March, the plans suddenly got a boost and there is no doubt that we will continue with online courses, even in a world without corona restrictions," says Claus Adam Jarløv, pointing to three main reasons:

• There are no geographical restrictions
• You can give your students the same professional benefit and also restore the social value to a large extent
• The technology offers many flexible possibilities for e.g. group work and interaction with and between participants

So, to return to the question in the headline - 'Can you do as good a job of teaching online as you do face-to-face?', the answer is a long way, yes you can, according to the three trainers.

However, some subjects are more suitable for online teaching than others, and a general rule of thumb is that the more concrete the course content, the more suitable it is for virtual teaching.

The individual student's experience of an online course can depend on how you are put together as a person, says Claus Adam Jarløv. If you're a bit introverted, you might be fine following a course from home, but if you're very extroverted, you might miss the social physical interaction you normally experience on a course. Overall, however, the feedback from course participants has been overwhelmingly positive.

Despite the many positive experiences, online training will in future be a complement to - and not a substitute for - physical courses at GlobalDenmark, and the trainers look forward to meeting more students face-to-face again as the situation allows.

5 tips for your online teaching:

• Put socialising on the agenda.
  That way, you can recreate some of what's lost when you don't meet physically. For many, a good chat during the coffee break is an important part of being on a course, and you can actually maintain this if you plan it. At the same time, it is important for participants to have a break and rest their heads in between.
• Always have more than one teacher.
  This way, the main teacher can concentrate on the content itself and interact with the participants, while another teacher can keep an eye on the chat, help with any technical problems, etc.
• Ask participants to be on video (if technology allows).
  This way you can see people's facial expressions, sense if they seem absent, and possibly ask a question to engage people.
• Be explicit about everything that is going on.
  In this way you avoid uncertainty and confusion among the participants. Send out detailed instructions before the course and be clear during the course so that participants are never in doubt about what is going on and what is about to happen. Also ask participants to make themselves clear if there is anything they do not understand.
• Get close to the camera.
  That way, participants have a live face to look at, and when they can feel your engagement, it helps increase theirs.

How to make feedback a powerful learning tool, even during a corona epidemic

Feedback can be an invaluable tool, and at the same time a process that is rife with hypocrisy, gullibility and a dangerous presumption that we have a common understanding of our shared world. Feedback is either brutal ("here we say things straight") or vague, sugary sweet talk ("here we have a culture of praise") - which is why feedback as a constructive and systematic learning tool is all too rarely used. I have three tips for good feedback:

1. Create a formal feedback framework that both parties understand
2. Make feedback a common concern as a basis for discussion and reflection
3. Be aware that uninvited feedback can be an abuse

In January, MandagMorgen published an excellent article on feedback entitled "How to avoid your feedback turning into a feedbank", written by business psychologists Mathias Hovind and Susanne Clausager Dalgaard. 

The article focuses on three things managers should avoid when giving feedback. Very interesting and a nice distraction from the corona tumult. The article has inspired me to make a few observations about feedback.

As I said, feedback can be associated with forgetfulness and hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is largely due to the fact that we are social individuals who want to do "the right thing" to become an accepted member of the group we identify with. We will go to great lengths to maintain our membership in the group. We use a common language, laugh at the same jokes, listen to the same music, etc. We say things we don't mean and willingly compromise our own well-being. This is not necessarily for the good, either personally or professionally.

When the boss has to give feedback to an employee, or when a colleague gives feedback to another colleague, feelings can be hurt and uncertainty can arise about what the feedback was really about. It's a bit of a minefield if you're not aware of what's at stake.

Let's imagine that Peter, who gave a speech in the department yesterday, is approached this morning by Birgitte, who says, "Peter, if I could just give you some feedback on your speech yesterday". Peter, who was not very enthusiastic about yesterday's performance and is today suffering from a headache, lies and says "yes please", even though he would prefer to be free.

Birgitte mentions with a smile that "you were very nervous and missed some points, but otherwise it was OK". Peter feels a lot worse for the smiling feedback and when Birgitte is done, he says "thank you". But inside he's frustrated and maybe even a little vengeful. He hadn't felt very nervous at all. What does she think she's doing? All wrapped up in gratitude and smiles. Birgitte has a clear sense that Peter welcomed her feedback. He did say thank you, but behind Peter's facade there is turmoil and irritation.

Birgitte probably meant well, and assumed that Peter was as ready to receive feedback as she was to give it. Without knowing it, Birgitte was abusing Peter. How could Birgitte have avoided it? Even by asking if she could give Peter feedback, Birgitte is committing an abuse. Because Peter will always say yes, whether he means it or not. If he said no, his belonging in the group would be threatened.

Feedback is, as the authors of the Monday Morning article also conclude, a common concern. Giving and receiving feedback is equally valuable for both parties if there is a common goal. If we are to steer clear of hypocrisy, pretence and dangerous preconceptions, there needs to be a common understanding of how and when we give each other feedback, whether we are managers or colleagues.

Feedback is a psychological minefield, where tone, body language, humour, irony, etc. can have a decisive impact on whether the message is understood. Cultural differences make special demands on the way we communicate. We may have the same working language, but we are likely to have very different views on values and concepts such as hierarchies, criticism, slang, etc. The risk of being misunderstood is imminent if we simply assume that we understand each other. Feedback should be clear, friendly and without subtlety.

The clear communication of constructive feedback takes on particular importance in these corona times, when we can expect a large proportion of our meetings to be increasingly digital. This may be by e-mail, Zoom, Skype, etc. This certainly applies to feedback as well. When we meet digitally, we are partly deprived of the important social signals we send and receive when we meet physically. If feedback through digital media is to succeed, focusing on clear, friendly communication is essential. There must therefore be a procedure that all parties are familiar with and can identify with.

The assumption that we have the same understanding of our world and its concepts is pure poison for constructive feedback. The shared understanding of why, when and how we give feedback, in turn, paves the way for an invaluable learning tool. The prerequisite for Birgitte's feedback to work is that both Peter and Birgitte agree that there is an expectation to give and receive feedback. And it is Peter who must invite feedback from his colleague Birgitte.

If Birgitte were Peter's boss, there would be an expectation that she would give Peter feedback without him inviting it. In any case, this is a shared concern. Peter and Birgitte both need to know in advance when and how the feedback will be formulated. Indeed, the recipient of feedback will always be vulnerable, and therefore the giver of feedback would do well to avoid speculating on feelings and assumptions that could cloud the constructive message. In my view, feedback is a formal process - a procedure - that creates a basis for shared reflection and deliberation.

In GlobalDenmark we work with feedback across cultures. Our model - DIDS - creates a shared safe learning environment across national, professional and personal cultures. 2600 PhD students worldwide have been introduced to our feedback methodology over the past 10 years, and several have returned with the remark "It works!".

Read more about GlobalDenmark's course on cross-cultural feedback here.

Here is an article about DIDS as a tool in the global research team.

Thanks to Mathias Hovind and Susanne Clausager Dalgaard for a little corona distraction!

This article is for anyone who would like tips on how to give a great presentation in a multicultural environment.

The 7 tips

Be formal and avoid jokes and irony

Make personal contact with your audience before you start

Be yourself, first and foremost

Then be the professional

Start with your key message

End with your key message

Make your final slide a source of inspiration for your audience to encourage questions

Have you ever

Attended a talk or a presentation where you were struggling to keep your eyes open?

Seen slides full of numbers and text, impossible to digest?

Left a presentation not really being sure what the key message was?

Not really understood the speaker's "funny" remarks?

How can you make sure your audience doesn't think that way about you?

Or have you, as a presenter,

Delivered a presentation where you became doubtful about whether your subject was in fact interesting to the audience?

Prepared slides you knew were overloaded with data and text?

Rounded off your presentation without much dialogue with your listeners?

Felt uneasy with the English language and the jokes you made?

And how can you make sure this doesn't happen to you (again)?

The audience: more demanding, still polite

When I started my career as an independent communications consultant 35 years ago, it was in many ways OK for audiences to be bombarded with incomprehensible details, exposed to speakers who mumbled and who were not in sync with their audience.

In academia and in business. Audiences were used to pretending to be interested and receptive, even if they had no clue about what was happening. This is not a thing of the past.

We may still attend boring, indigestible and unfocused presentations. TED talks / presentations and social media have made audiences more demanding over the years, true. Audiences even evaluate presentations sometimes.

On top of that, more and more presentations are expected to be delivered in English, often in multi-cultural environments. But we still put up with being bored, absent-minded and perhaps even bewildered. Nodding and smiling. Audiences are generally terribly polite. All over the world.

Mistakes can be a relief

To be quite honest, some the most memorable presentations I have experienced (both as a speaker and listener) were the ones that went wrong: the projector failed, or the hosts forgot to book a room. For some reason, these mishaps often contributed to the value of a presentation in that there was much dialogue between speaker and audience, and the speaker might - in a sweat - say: "Now, what I really wanted to tell you..." The presenter became a human being who had an important story to tell us.

Speaker and audience shared a wavelength where the speaker did not only speak to the audience but engaged in a conversation with them. Somehow cultural and linguistic barriers disappeared.

How can we make a presentation valuable and enjoyable?

I am not advocating that things must go wrong for the presentation to be successful. But perhaps we can learn a bit from what makes a talk or presentation a valuable and enjoyable experience?

How can we achieve this across cultural borders with English as the working language?

Here are the seven tips again:

Tip No 1

Formality is your protection: If you are Danish, you may want to be disarmingly informal. Don't! Formality is your protection - jokes and irony may do wonders in Denmark, but can do damage abroad. And nobody will tell you! So, if in doubt, be formal. You can adapt your behaviour towards more informality later.

Tip No 2

Your attitude counts: We are social creatures - and presentation s are social events. Show interest in your audience by making links to which they can identify. Make personal contact and talk to people in the lobby: before you go on stage, during breaks and afterwards. Ask questions, be curious - interest in other people always works!

Tip No 3

Be you first: Before you begin your presentation, share a short story or observation of relevance to the subject of your presentation. Your style is relaxed and personal, yet respectful and polite.

Tip No 4

Be the professional next: After the more informal start, change style and become more formal and professional. It will make your audience listen to you.

Tip No 5

Start with your key message: Start your presentation with your key message or key points ("What I really want to tell you"). Your style is focused, insistent and formal.

Tip No 6

End with your key message: Putting it into the context of your presentation. Again, be focused, insistent and formal. Use the final slide with your key message.

Tip No 7

Make your presentation a social affair: The final slide with your key points will work as a source of inspiration for the audience: they qualify comments and questions. The final slide is the most precious of them all. Treat it accordingly. It encourages interaction with your listeners. Across cultural borders - also in English.

Becoming a compelling presenter: plan and practise!

There is a lot more to it, of course.

Giving presentations in a multicultural setting with English as a foreign language can be quite a challenge. But with these 7 simple tips, you stand a good chance of delivering a valuable presentation at home and abroad - you might even enjoy it yourself!

If you are interested in becoming better at giving presentations in English, then join our course: "Presentation techniques in English"

Read the course description in Danish

Read the course description in English

What are the key elements for a successful balance between family life and the PhD study?

- lessons learned from Urd Bak's story

Dr. Bak's 3 tips to PhD students are:

Structure and plan your scientific work, and keep work and family life apart.

Accept your imperfections and get the help you need to tackle them - remember "completed" is better than "perfect",

Keep your supervisor updated so problems can be resolved before they become serious disturbances.

Meet Urd Bak, married, mother of two daughters, biologist and PhD on seaweeds.

In this blog post, Urd Bak shares her PhD story and the key elements that helped her to a successful balance between family life and work.

How to balance family life and a PhD

It all began when Urd was doing her BA. A senior researcher introduced her to the potential of seaweeds as a source of environmentally sustainable source of nutrition. Urd was fascinated and loved the hands-on aspects of studying these oceanic vegetables.

Moving on to her Master's degree, seaweeds still played a major role in Urd's academic work. Having earned her MSc, she was employed part time at the Food Institute, the Danish Technical University and part time at Ocean Rainforsts, a private company that specialises in making seaweed a viable business proposition. The idea of an industrial PhD was taking shape, in collaboration with the university.

Urd started her PhD abroad and brought the family with her

Urd decided to spend the first year as PhD student at Ocean Rainforsts on the Faroe Islands with her family: two young daughters and her husband. On the one hand, Urd was in paradise, being able to dig into her weeds. On the other hand, life was challenging for her and her family trying to make their everyday lives work in a foreign environment. Among other things, through Urd's structuring of her work, there was room for both science and the family.

After one year, the family moved back to Copenhagen. Life changed from wellies to a computer keyboard. Papers were to be written and presentations prepared for scientific conferences, and still she commuted between home and the wind battered Atlantic islands for more field work.

Accept your imperfections - you can communicate your science internationally without being strong at English

Urd knew that English - her working language - was not her key competence. At school, maths and natural sciences subjects were favourites, whereas foreign languages were not really her cup of tea. So, a language barrier in her scientific work was by no means a surprise.

How did Urd manage to write the scientific papers required? And how about speaking at international conferences? Well, first, Urd attended courses on academic writing and presentation techniques. She learnt to use some very tangible tools to help her build a scientific paper systematically and in correct English.

Secondly, she used speaking techniques that helped her deal with nerves and deliver well-structured, interesting talks. She discovered that using relevant writing and presentation techniques continuously made writing and public speaking less daunting. Practice makes perfect, or nearly so!

Finally, Urd benefited greatly from her natural self-discipline and ability to plan her academic activities.

"Being systematic and disciplined made me get things done and at the same time still have a family life."

From PhD student to full-blown researcher

One day not long ago, all the papers for her PhD had been finalised. And her thesis, too. It was time for the moment of truth: the PhD defence. An audience comprising friends and family, colleagues and supervisors and two outsiders ready to ask critical questions.

It all went well; very well, in fact. Urd felt intensely happy. And afterwards, a garden party at home: one her supervisors gave a moving speech as did a cousin who had helped her. For Urd, her PhD process was a positive experience - fancy now being a full-blown researcher, on a par with those a looked upon with awe not long ago. That day was a milestone in Urd's life, not least considering that five years earlier, Urd had no clue about pursuing an academic career.

Now that Urd is no longer a PhD student, she discovered that her academic life is different, almost intimidating; now, Urd is a scientific resource rather than a mere underling as some senior researchers tend to see PhD students.

Urd now works at Ocean Rainforests, who originally hired her as a PhD student. She is happy there but has no specific plans for the future. What Urd does know is that she wants to explore further the huge potential in seaweeds as a way of reducing CO2 emissions, ensuring food availability on the planet and protecting the oceans.

Urd's three tips:

Our conversation ends with Urd's three tips for PhD students:

Structure and plan your work!

Never allow your daily work to be distracted by activities in your life that are also important - and the other way around. Keeping things on track enabled Urd to engage in hardcore science and, at the same time, to have a happy family life.

Accept your imperfections!

Things can always be improved, but at some point in time you must deliver. No one is infallible, and you must learn to enjoy the relief of submitting something you have worked hard on. Getting help to deal with challenges can make your work more efficient and help ensure a good balance between work and private life.

Keep your supervisor updated!

Urd's supervisors were invaluable resources throughout her PhD. It was vital that Urd continuously kept them informed about how things were going so problems could be resolved before they became serious disturbances. Use your supervisors - they are your partners!

Urd (or Dr Bak) attended GlobalDenmark's two courses on scientific communication: "Academic Writing" and "Advanced Presentation Techniques".

Related Links

https://phdinahundredsteps.com/tag/balancing-phd-and-workfamily-life/

https://www.phdstudies.com/article/six-tips-for-pursuing-your-phd-with-a-family/

https://storiesinscience.org/2018/08/24/phd-or-family/

I have always maintained that English words only rarely mean exactly the same as their Danish equivalents. Style, usage, tone, connotations may vary even if the words look completely alike. This is what makes quality translation such a demanding craft. These days, the word "absurd" is being scrutinised as the Danish PM used the Danish word "absurd" in a comment on President Trump's wish to buy Greenland. This apparently offended the President to a degree that he cancelled a state visit to Denmark at very short notice. How can one word have such impact? Linguists are frantically searching for differences in the meaning of this word in English and in Danish. They are still searching. I would venture to say that "absurd" means almost the same in English and in Danish. It's a semantically powerful word and sounds like a nice version of "crazy". Calling a person's utterances absurd is offensive in either language if one wants to be offended.

The President's newly acquired sensitivity inspired him to call the Danish PM's use of the word "nasty", which is a powerful word, too. Quite offensive, in many people's minds. But the world leader kindly defined it as "not nice". The President seems to have a soft spot for very few powerful words and phrases, which he uses again and again. "The likes of which the world has never seen before" is an extremely powerful phrase when used once - used many times, it becomes ambiguous. "Incredible" and "awesome" are everyday examples of the same phenomenon. Big words whose meaning broadens when used frequently. The president frequently uses the word "nasty" about people he doesn't like. "Not nice" - or disgusting? Your choice.

The American President's cancellation of his visit to Denmark is a case of selective interpretation of the word "absurd": whereas the Danish PM said that it was an absurd discussion, the President decided to interpret it as offensive to him and, hence, to the United States of America. The President is crazy. That is offensive. The President used one semantically powerful word as a pretext for not coming to Denmark. He may have his reasons. One word triggers the cancellation of a state visit. May I use the word "absurd" here? Hats off to the Danish PM for not engaging in a war of words!

Claus Adam Jarløv, CEO

I am studying English with a profile in Translation and Communication in the 3rd semester of my Master's programme at the University of Copenhagen. I was lucky enough to meet Barbara from GlobalDenmark when she gave a presentation on technical translation at one of my courses a few months ago. It was incredibly exciting to hear about the career opportunities that a language degree offers, and it inspired me to look into the possibility of starting an internship with GlobalDenmark. Fortunately, they were willing to welcome (another) intern to their company and I am looking forward to an interesting and educational programme that will end in January. I will get to sniff a bit at all the company's task types in the different departments, as well as prepare content for the company's online profile. I hope you will read along.

Theory vs. practice

I'm not sure what I had in mind before I started my internship, but I didn't expect to be put on an equal footing with the rest of the company so quickly. On the second day of my internship, I was given my first "real" translation assignment. By "real" I mean an assignment that didn't just have to be read through once by a tutor, given a mark and then filed. No, it will actually be used out in the "real world" and it was quite a satisfying feeling to finish it, even though it was also very challenging. Fortunately, I wasn't completely left to my own devices, as one of the company's experienced translators read and proofread the translation with me, while we discussed the changes he made. This in itself is a very instructive process.

I've read all sorts of theory about translation, but putting theory into practice is easier said than done. Because (unfortunately) there is no recipe for perfect translation. Translation is a communicative tool that varies from task to task, so you need to combine your theoretical knowledge base with a lot of practical skills to become a good translator. And that's exactly what you do when you go on placement.

CAT Tools

These skills can be supported by different tools. GlobalDenmark uses a CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tool called MemoQ. This tool makes the job of a translator much easier, and I don't think many professional translators work without one. But they do at the University of Copenhagen. During my studies, I only had the opportunity to work with a CAT tool once. Otherwise, I did all my translation work 'manually', of course with the help of dictionaries and various databases. Of course, this has taught me a lot about translating, but it was an almost new world for me to solve a task using a CAT tool, which is an indispensable tool for most professional translators. This will undoubtedly strengthen my skills in using translation tools and benefit me in the future. Of course, my theoretical background will also help me a lot when I enter the job market as a graduate, but the job market often expects more than theoretical knowledge, and I am therefore very grateful to have had the opportunity to be part of GlobalDenmark for a while.

I am also very pleased to see that the Government's Entrepreneurship Panel is now focusing on the value of internships for university students, because as they state: "[t]hese companies need a workforce that hasn't just spent its education with its nose buried in books".

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