Hi all! I was invited to write a little something on who I am and why I’ve signed up for the 2015 Newcastle event, so here goes:

My name is Karin Krikkink, I live in Groningen in the north of the Netherlands and I am a translator of English to Dutch. I have been in the translation business for about twelve years now; the first two years as a project manager for a small localization agency, after which in 2004 I took the plunge and started freelancing. Well, to be honest the plunge wasn’t really all that deep, as at the same time I also took on a part-time job (which I still have by the way) as an in-house translator and project coordinator at the University of Groningen translation service. I specialize in creative translation and transcreation, as well as the field of higher education.

So why am I coming to the 2015 ITI Conference in Newcastle? For quite a number of reasons really: to make new friends and keep in touch with old ones, to network, to earn a few CPD – or as the Dutch call them, PE (‘Permanente Educatie’) – points, to learn about what’s new in the industry, to get out of the office and spend a few days in a beautiful city abroad (let’s be honest, who doesn’t use conferences as a good excuse for a mini-vacation…), and perhaps most importantly to be inspired by all those colleagues who are also passionate about their jobs. After all, translation is a rather lonely profession and sitting behind your desk all day (even if you do have a part-time job on the side) you sometimes tend to forget how much fun it can be. With session titles like ‘Brain food for translators – the language (and flavours) of chocolate’, ‘Fashionable translations: from designer labels to clothing labels’ and ‘Languages take you further’ I’m sure this conference will serve as a perfect reminder to me of why translation is the best job in the world…

Looking forward to seeing you all in Newcastle!