Summer Placement Diaries
Olha's Summer Placement at Kudo
Over the past six months, the world has almost completely shifted to the virtual space and many placements this year have had to be done virtually as well. Luckily, I have chosen the right kind of company to do that. KUDO is one of the world leaders in the videoconferencing and remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI). The company was founded in 2017 in New York and in just three years became one of the leading providers of high-quality multilingual communication, and undoubtedly the most interpreter-friendly platform for remote interpreting. What differentiates KUDO from other videoconferencing platforms is that it was built with interpreters in mind and with contributions from the interpreters in the company. Interpreters’ opinions are always valued when any changes to the platform are being made. KUDO also always strives for improvements to make interpreters’ experiences even better and to implement the newest technology and artificial intelligence systems into their platform.
I was welcomed into the company by the team of professional conference interpreters headed by Ewandro Magalhaes, a former Chief Interpreter in the United Nations system. My primary responsibilities included interpreting demos of the platform, supporting interpreter onboarding webinars as an operator, leading the webinars myself, and participating in other activities as required.
In order to become a KUDO certified interpreter and to be able to start interpreting on the platform, I had to complete an online Interpreter Journey tutorial, as well as participate in an online onboarding webinar to gain practical skills in working with the platform. Further into my placement, I had a chance to lead these webinars myself for new interpreters, who were always seasoned conference interpreters seeking experience in the new virtual environment. Being a professional interpreter is one of the key requirements for anyone willing to interpret on KUDO. After completing all the necessary training, I was ready to create my interpreter profile which can be found here https://interpreter.kudoway.com/900114369100 and finally start interpreting!
One of the highlights of my placement was interpreting for the panel discussion hosted by the Nimdzi Insights, featuring the Language Manager of the World Bank and the head of globalization at AirBnB. During this session, the participants discussed changes in international communication and the way global leaders are adapting to the new demands. I had the pleasure to interpret the panel discussion into the Russian language together with a boothmate and gain first-hand experience working as an interpreter in remote settings.
Aside from gaining invaluable experience, my placement with KUDO was also highly beneficial for my master’s thesis on Video Remote Interpreting. I was not only able to acquaint myself with the state-of-the-art solution for RSI but also to witness the many benefits and challenges that the use of RSI brings to both interpreters and its users.
Written by Olha Makukh
