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** If you are unable to attend an event, you may arrange for someone to take your place.
The SENSE 2020 Online Conference features an engaging schedule of presentations and short talks aimed at English-language professionals.
The conference will open on Zoom just after lunch on Wednesday 3 June with a welcome. Then, a series of sessions presented by SENSE members and other language professionals from around the globe will fill the afternoon, interspersed with a networking break. The rest of the conference, taking place on the afternoons of Thursday 4 and Friday 5 June, will proceed in a similar way.
Naturally, the nuts and bolts of translation, editing and language will be a common strand running through the programme, but more diverse topics addressing current and developing trends, such as ‘near-peer’ learning, digital nomadism and networking, are also on the cards. There's also a session on Plain English and language interference, plus – for the first time – a panel bringing together experienced SENSE members and young language professionals from Maastricht University to discuss client acquisition.
Let’s not forget the more practical sides of our business either, with a panel presentation on maintaining productivity as a parent of young children on Friday afternoon.
What is more, Brian Mossop, author of the classic Editing and Revising for Translators, now in its fourth edition, will be joining us as a special guest speaker on Wednesday, marking the celebration of SENSE’s 30th anniversary as a society serving language practitioners in the Netherlands.
SENSE used to organize conferences every two years and professional development days in alternate years. Since the pandemic, we have not organized a full in-person conference but expect to do so again in our jubilee year, 2025.
The professional development days (PDDs) are mini-conferences aimed primarily at SENSE members themselves.
2019 PDD
When: Saturday 21 September 2019,
Registration opens at 9:00, the borrel will finish at 18:30
Where: De Eenhoorn, Amersfoort (opposite NS station)
Come join us for our Professional Development Day, the biennial event in which SENSE members learn from (and with) other members. This year's programme will include two great plenary talks, our first-ever translation slam and presentations by some of the society's best translators, copywriters and editors. There will also be plenty of time to socialise and network during the yummy buffet lunch and the end-of-the-day borrel. Don't miss it!
Sign up
Sign up (click the Register button on the event page) before the end of the day on 31 August to take advantage of a €25 early-bird discount!
SENSE members (through 31 August): €60
SENSE members (from 1 September): €85
Non-members (through 31 August): €120
Non-members (from 1 September): €145
Attendance at the SENSE PDD will entitle you to 6 PE points.
Click here to register. Members, remember to log in!
The programme:
Time | What we are doing | |
---|---|---|
9:00–9:30 | Registration Time for tea or coffee and networking |
|
9:30–9:40 | Welcome and introduction | |
9:40–10:30 |
From Lada to Lamborghini: tips for gaining and retaining valuable repeat clients |
|
10:30–11:00 | Coffee break & networking | |
11:00–11:50 | An introduction to Cornwall and its languages (Anita van Adelsbergen) |
Translating in architecture (Dianna Beaufort) |
11:55–12:45 |
Translating for fun and profit |
Copywriting: what is it and could you do it? (Cathy Scott) |
12:45–13:45 | Lunch break & networking | |
13:45–14:35 | What not to forget in your quotation (John Linnegar & Jenny Zonneveld) |
Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (Francis Cox) |
14:45–15:35 |
Translation slam |
The diverse skills and roles for language professionals in academia & science (Jackie Senior & Kate McIntyre) |
15:30–16:00 | Tea break & networking |
|
16:00–17:15 | High-level writing, rhythm and flow (Mike Hannay) |
|
17:15–17:30 | Closing session |
|
17:30–18:30 |
Drinks, hapjes and (more) networking |
SENSE 2020 Conference
(3-5 June)
Many of you will be pleased to learn that the Jubilee Conference team – with the sterling support of a group of die-hard and innovative presenters and workshop facilitators – have converted the in-person conference into a meeting of true minds. The opportunity to learn, to network and to share online couldn’t be better timed during these times of general gloom and social distancing. And the good news is that the SENSE Online Jubilee Conference continues to feature something for everyone – and at seriously keen prices too!
The online conference will be presented on the afternoons of 3, 4 and 5 June 2020; the workshops are no longer parallel but in series so you can attend as many as you like. The series kicks off on 16 May and will run through to 26 June – with one workshop to attend nearly each week during this period: there’s no doubt that you’ll be spoilt for choice, given the wide range of topics on offer. Head over to the programme page for all the details.
We are pleased to announce that Paul Beverley’s Macros workshop on 16 May has been added to the conference workshop line-up. Consequently, its price has been reduced in line with the others in the series – check it out on the conference workshops page!
If you have previously registered and paid for the conference and/or a workshop, and wish to attend one or more of the online events, when you register, select ‘Bank transfer’ as the payment method. We will then deduct your online workshops and conference from what you previously and refund you as appropriate.
If you do not wish to attend any of the re-programmed online workshops and conference sessions and would like a full refund, less the € 50 non-refundable deposit, please contact Theresa Truax-Gischler at media@sense-online.nl.
In line with the reduced scale of the conference programme and because both the conference and the workshops are being presented online (thanks to Zoom), the pricing for both has been simplified and considerably reduced: to attend all three half-days of the conference will now cost only € 60 for members of SENSE and € 75 for non-members. The fee for attending an online workshop is now € 30 for members and € 60 for non-members. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to book separate tickets for just one or two conference days.
This being an online event, you will be able to register for either the whole conference (not the individual afternoons) and the workshops up to 16:00 on the day before the event.
In these virus-disrupted days, practitioners are more keenly aware than ever of the risks and opportunities inherent in freelancing, and some innovative solutions, so topics related to this theme will feature strongly in the online programme. For instance:
So, what’s standing in your way of attending SENSE Online Jubilee Conference 2020 from the comfort of your own home?
See you there, on 3, 4 and 5 June – or in the front row at a workshop!
The SENSE Online Jubilee Conference planning team
Ashley, Jenny, John, Ken, Liz, Lloyd, Marieke, Matthew and Theresa
2018 Conference
Englishes now!
trends affecting language professionals
Perhaps you attended my presentation on networking at the Professional Development Day in September 2017, or at the SENSE Jubilee Conference in November 2015. Or perhaps you read my 2016 article in eSense 40. But even if you’ve never heard of me, you will likely know that freelance language professionals need to use their networks to bring in new clients and stay up to date with developments. (By the way, I hope those of you who attended the conference have, like me, gone on LinkedIn and connected with all those new people you met at the conference. That’s what those business cards are for – then you can throw them in the paper bin!)
Despite all my well-meaning advice to other freelancers, I recently found myself telling myself off at a networking event. It’s so easy to forget those ground rules! The rule I broke? – remembering that not only are the people in your own network potential clients, but also the people in their networks.
I moved house several months ago to a massive new housing development that the Dutch call a Vinex-location (did you know that Vinex stands for Vierde Nota Ruimtelijke Ordening Extra?). It turns out that the Stadshagen development in Zwolle not only houses more than 20,000 people, it also has a local business network. The Stadshagen Ondernemers Platform meets regularly just two minutes’ walk from my house, so how could I not go?
The theme of their June meeting was – most excitingly – insurance for business owners, which is actually a topic close to my heart as I am currently sorting out disability insurance and liability insurance for my business. (More about that in another post soon I hope – I’m still getting the paperwork sorted.)
A fellow freelancer from my Broodfonds in Zwolle first gave a presentation about the concept (see my previous article in eSense 44 for more info on this) and about her own experiences after having to report sick. This was followed by a presentation on insurance for business owners, disability insurance in particular, given by an insurance broker who has his own company – very down to earth and easy to follow I must say.
After questions and plenty of discussion about the various options for insuring yourself, but before the networking borrel – probably what many of us came for – it was time for a couple of agenda items from the organizing committee. One was a reminder to email them a business card to ask to be profiled on the SOP’s Facebook page to promote our businesses. After all, the page has 250 followers and the freelance florist who was on there recently got several hundred likes.
And here it comes: ‘So what?’, I thought. ‘There’s no point in me advertising my services to other business owners in the area as this is not where my clients are. My potential clients are at universities, hospitals and private companies, not here in the neighbourhood. That’s more for the freelance florists, coaches, event planners, financial advisers and online marketing consultants, not for me.’ WRONG! All those freelancers have their own networks. And the people in their networks may need scientific reports writing or manuscripts editing, or be looking for someone to teach a writing course at their company/lab/university/department.
So as I wandered out to the terrace with a drink in my hand, doing my best to overcome that fear of not knowing anyone and wondering what to say, I ended up giving myself a good talking-to and made sure that I let people know what I did, that I enjoyed what I did and that I am good at it! And yes, I will be sending in my business card to profile my business on the Facebook page – you just never know.
Do you have a networking story to tell? One that led to work? Or even one that went badly? Add your story to the comments or write your own post for the blog. We’d love to hear from you.
Sally Hill is an editor and writer for the SENSE blog and newsletter and a British biologist-turned-linguist who runs a business called Scientific Texts.
Sunday, 10 June
15:45–17:00, Boat trip on the Binnendieze: leave Hotel Centraal together
On this fifty-minute boat trip through the underground waterways of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, you will see all aspects of the Binnendieze river (the river that flows through and underneath the city). Travelling along the small waterways you can admire the finest spots of the historical city centre. The skipper-guide will tell you about the history and restoration of the walls, underpasses and arches. After passing through the Kruisbroedershekel you will leave the fortified city and arrive at the Singelgracht. The boat will then take you through the Grote Hekel and you will continue the tour within the city walls. We have reserved three boats for our group and have requested English speaking guides, though this cannot be guaranteed.
Departure point: Voldersgat: on the corner of Zuidwal – Oude Dieze (within walking distance of Hotel Central)
Price: €12.50 per person (non-refundable, including bottle of water).
Maximum 16 people per boat, if we fill up one boat, we will open registration for a second boat.
Saturday, 9 June
10:00–12:00, Guided tour of ’s-Hertogenbosch : starts from Hotel Centraal
The tour will take you to the city highlights and is timed to arrive back at Hotel Central by 12:00, when registration opens for the conference. You can leave your luggage at the hotel before the walking tour starts.
Price:
Price: €7.50 per person, (non-refundable, including bottle of water)
Friday, 8 June
10:00–12:30, Visit to Van Gogh Village, Nuenen
You will experience Brabant hospitality at the SENSE 2018 conference. The sightseeing tour on the Friday will also give you the opportunity to tread in the footsteps of a native of Brabant, and one of the most famous painters of all time: Vincent van Gogh.
To see genuine Van Gogh paintings you’ll have to stay in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, because you won’t see any on this trip to the village of Nuenen. What you will see is where Van Gogh’s career as a painter began: where he produced his first masterpiece and a quarter of his work, all in the space of two years.
PROGRAMME FOR FRIDAY 8 JUNE
Travel to Nuenen, by car or public transport. It’s about a half-hour drive from ’s-Hertogenbosch. Parking is free in the village centre. Arrive at Café Restaurant Comigo between 09:00 and 10.00. Four activities are planned:
Vincentre museum: this exhibition opened eight years ago and is about Vincent van Gogh’s life from birth until the day he left Nuenen for Antwerp in 1885. It details how he painted his first masterpiece The Potato Eaters in the village. The museum provides an audio guide in English (or seven other languages) and has a shop and small café. The visit will take about one hour.
A walking tour of the open-air museum with an English-speaking guide. Nowhere in the world has more locations with a connection to Van Gogh than Nuenen: 22 buildings or sites that he painted or lived or worked in. These include his parents’ house and the church which was the subject of the painting that was stolen in 2002 and recovered last year. The walking tour will take about one hour.
Nune Ville, the home of Vincent’s lover Margot Begemann, was renovated last year. It usually only opens on Saturdays, but the owner has agreed to let us visit on the Friday. It is still a private home, but one room has been restored in authentic style and there is an interesting attic. The tour, which the owner will give, will take about 30 minutes.
Lunch
If you don’t have to travel back to ’s-Hertogenbosch for workshops in the afternoon you can enjoy a typical Brabant lunch at Opwetten Watermill. Van Gogh painted this working watermill, because he often passed it on his way to buy paint in Eindhoven. Lunch will include soup, sourdough bread with various fillings, meat or vegetarian croquette and one drink (beer, wine or soft drink). Special dietary requirements can be catered for if you let us know in advance. Lunch will finish at about 14:30. You are then free to explore the village or make your way back home – or to your hotel.
VAN GOGH VILLAGE NUENEN is offering SENSE members and conference delegates a 50% discount, the price for our tour is:
Full tour including lunch: €30.00 per person
Full tour without lunch: €15.00 per person
(Travel to and from Nuenen, coffee on arrival and extra drinks at lunch are not included in the price.)
You will receive details of public transport to Nuenen and where to park in the village at a later date.
In association with: