NEaT Mentoring 2025

The NEaT mentoring scheme is running for the fourth year in 2025 for members to share experience and expertise.  Mentors give a few hours of their time to mentees to work on a particular issue. This can be core skills in a specific area of translation or editing, or specific business, marketing, IT or other skills related to our work. Regardless of how long you have been working, there are always new skills you might need to learn. Mentees will have a clear goal or skill related to their work as translators or editors that they want to work on over three one-to-one sessions.

NEaT mentors offer the following:

Specialisms: medical, sustainability storytelling, sciences, academic, historical texts (primary and secondary sources), nonfiction books, literary, public service, audiovisual and subtitling, plain and easy English

Linguistic core skills: translation between English and one of the Nordic languages, Finnish authorised translator certification, copy-editing, proofreading, developmental editing 

Writing: blogging, copywriting, nonfiction, academic, grant applications, marketing, SEO, content creation

Tech: Overleaf, tech tools for (academic) editing, audiovisual and subtitling

Business skills: navigating the language service market, networking, setting up and working as a sole trader/toiminimi, business/entrepreneurship skills and practice

Other: if you are moving into a new field or developing a new skill not listed here, we will try to match you to a more experienced mentee.

The programme is open to NEaT members only. Note that language professionals with less experience can become trial members of NEaT at a reduced rate. Not a member yet? Join NEaT here.

Mentors are compensated for their time, and mentees make a small contribution to the cost, which is subsidised by NEaT.

If you would like to be a mentor or mentee with NEaT, apply here. The mentoring coordinator will match you up and be in touch as soon as we find the right person for you to work with.

In the news – The OED

It’s that time of year again: the OED has announced some of its new words.

You’ll have seen gigil in the news: an intense feeling caused by anger, eagerness, or the pleasure of seeing someone or something cute or adorable. There is usually a photo of a kitten doing its gigil-inspiring best. Though IMHO it would have been even better if the OED had linked it to squee in their historical thesaurus.

The historical thesaurus? It’s one of the glories of the OED and a useful resource for translators and editors. Off the record, it’s hours of endless fun. Like most entries in the OED, gigil ends with a link to all the similar terms from centuries of English (though not squee). Many entries also have a link to other types of English too, alongside the historical thesaurus. The new entry for class, complete with quote from Derry Girls, will carry you off to the early thirteenth century.

Now that’s gilden, prime, rare, and grand, isn’t it?

Springtime

We’ve been spring-cleaning NEaT’s website recently. It’s work in progress, but the plan is to make it easier to find information about events and things like the agenda for the AGM. Talking of which, see you at the AGM in Helsinki or online on 10 April.

We’ll also be sending out reminders about membership fees. Keeping your membership up to date ensures you continue to enjoy the benefits of being part of our association. Uncertain how to go about it? There’s now a How to Pay page too.

If you haven’t visited the website recently, take a look and let us know what you think!

Almond Blossom (Van Gogh Museum, Vincent van Gogh Foundation)