Companies and organizations interested in engaging with future localization professionals have an opportunity to partner with the Middlebury Institute’s Translation and Localization Management (TLM) program to help train second-year students enrolled in the course Localization Practicum.

Smiling student sitting across a table from his advisor as she writes

The purpose of the Coordinated Professional Studies Program is to share insights into the localization, internationalization, and globalization processes within the company/organization.

We believe we have an opportunity to foster knowledge exchange in a relatively new industry in order to nurture young professionals who will soon join the corporate world. One of the most important aspects of the program is learning how to cope with and adapt to constant change, one of the most daunting challenges in the localization industry. The Coordinated Professional Studies Program is a mechanism to pair students with localization professionals.

A typical Coordinated Professional Studies Program includes the following:

  • A half-semester (6 to 8 week) professional development course led by a small team of employees from the company/organization;
  • Weekly meetings to check in with participants; most common is a shared “problem of practice,” or a research area selected by both parties;
  • Optional final presentation by students to business stakeholders;
  • Optional on-site meetings with other members of the organization;
  • Optional receptions, lunches, or dinners to facilitate networking;
  • And keeping everything neat and tidy, an NDA to keep corporate IP confidential.

At the end of the program, typically the host organization prepares a summary report of what was accomplished, what went well, and opportunities for improvement.