Cadê Você?

O INESC TEC lança todos os meses no mercado pessoas altamente qualificadas. Muitas vezes, essas pessoas vão ocupar lugares de destaque nas melhores empresas nacionais e internacionais ou optam por formar spin-offs. Como a melhor forma de transferir tecnologia é transferir pessoas, nesta secção a voz é dada aos colaboradores que se formaram no INESC TEC e agora brilham noutras empresas e instituições.

Jessica Grace, Language College, Teacher of Spanish

• Ano em que entrou e saiu do INESC Porto: 2010-2012
• Unidade(s) do INESC Porto com que colaborou: The Communication Service (SCOM)
• Título(s) do(s) projeto(s) em que participou:

While working as part of the Communication Service I was lucky enough to be part of INESC Porto as it joined forces with associate units and grew into INESC TEC. I was involved in forming Connect INESC TEC to create a network of links between the Associate Laboratory and former employees and it is now a privilege to be invited to share my experiences through the very same project. In conjunction with my fellow translator, Rita Pacheco, I also developed a guide to Academic English to offer stylist and grammatical support for researchers writing scientific papers in English, a paper which I then presented at the University of Minho. I was also involved in running a workshop to build on the guidance and support offered in the document. However, my fondest memories of INESC TEC come from the events we organised at the Communication Service, such as the Forum do Mar, ELAB 2011, the football tournaments and the multicultural parties.

Testemunho relativo a sua experiência desde a sua saída do INESC TEC

With a heavy heart I left INESC TEC in 2012 to pursue a career teaching languages and translation back in my home country, the UK. With my experience at INESC TEC as a translator I was able to secure a job teaching Spanish at a college close to Cambridge.  My adventure started quite early when I as informed in May that I would need to teach French from September of the same academic year. I had never learnt French before, but as a linguist I was excited about the challenge. I was sent to a university in the north of England and then spent the rest of the summer in La Rochelle continuing my studies. Thanks to my knowledge of Portuguese, I was able to pick up the grammar quite quickly, but it took me a while to perfect my accent and the locals in La Rochelle enjoyed laughing at my “Rubiiiish French”. In September I began teaching beginners’ French and after nearly a whole academic year, I do feel much more confident.
In the coming academic year I will be moving to a place called Wymondham (pronounced Windham), where I will be teaching Spanish (and less French!) at a specialist language college. I am also hoping to branch out and teach translation and subtitling to small groups at the college. My time with the Communication Service will allow me to show students real translation scenarios and the types of texts they may be asked to revise or translate.
Finally, along with my partner, I am hoping to bring a little taste of Portugal back to England by starting up a company to import and sell Portuguese wines. My time in Portugal taught me a lot about enjoying the finer things in life.

Na sua opinião como é que a sua experiência no INESC TEC ajudou no novo papel?

My time in the Communication Service department taught me a lot about the tricks of the trade and how to use what I had learnt in my Masters in Translation in a professional environment where image and international relations are fundamental. However, what I learnt most from working at INESC TEC is the importance of enterprise. I was inspired by the ambitious and innovative researchers who, with the support of the Associate Laboratory, were able to transform their ideas into reality with a true impact. This has inspired me to follow my dream and start a company here in the UK.

Na sua opinião, o INESC TEC mudou em quais aspectos desde a sua saída?

Although it has only been a year since I left INESC TEC, I can see clear growth and development. INESC TEC now has a group dedicated to biomedical research and innovation, an area with clear developments in the UK in previous months. The Associate Laboratory has also spread into a new spacious building. Through tough economic times I am proud to look at INESC TEC and still see an Associate Laboratory that is not only surviving but thriving and taking on more and more new international projects.