In 2020, the French Network was delighted to launch our MITI upgrade grant. Recipients receive funds to help cover the cost of upgrading to Qualified ITI Member status. Laura Glancey is a French and Russian to English translator, specialising in business documents and user guides.
I did my first degree in Modern Languages, what seems a very long time ago, but then wandered into corporate IT after graduation. After a fairly long career break to bring up a family, I decided to return to my first love and started a part-time, distance learning MA in Translation in 2013. The course leader recommended joining a professional organisation, so I became a Student member of ITI in 2014.
Several years later, having moved through Affiliate to Associate membership, I decided it was time to take the plunge and upgrade to MITI. I knew that I wanted to demonstrate my professional commitment to the industry, and I was also hoping that having an entry in the ITI directory would help me find new clients.
I first heard about the Qualification Supported Assessment (QSA) route at the ITI Conference in Sheffield in 2019, so I went onto the ITI website to investigate what the requirements were, and was delighted to find that attaining a Distinction in my MA meant that I qualified for this route. I won’t deny that not having to take an exam to upgrade was definitely appealing! Taking the test on the Code of Professional Conduct was pretty straightforward, and I had no problem getting a couple of references from clients. My CPD for the last three years was already logged on the ITI system as a matter of course. That just left the personal statement – a 400-500 word statement on why I wanted to become an MITI, how I would benefit from membership and how I would contribute to the community. Writing this took a bit of thought, but it was a useful exercise.
Having assembled my portfolio of evidence, I sent off my application at the start of November 2022, and was really pleased to hear back less than a week later that I had been successful. I set about changing my email signature, CV, LinkedIn and website accordingly, and then something (I can’t remember what) reminded me that the French Network offers grants for membership upgrades. I found the information on the network’s website, and emailed Emmanuelle for details. Applying was very easy, and the grant is very welcome; the QSA route is slightly cheaper than taking the examination, but it’s still a considerable outlay.
I’d encourage anyone who is thinking about upgrading to go for it – the process of applying was much less scary than I was expecting, and the sense of achievement and validation alone makes it worth it!