Danielle Palhares de Almeida

Please tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

I was born in the capital city of Brazil, Brasilia. Brasilia itself was mixture of people from all states. All this surely made an important part in growing in me a special interest in different cultures – which soon lead to an interest in studying foreign languages.

I obtained a BA degree in English Translation at University of Brasilia with a minor in French. After graduating, I worked for roughly two years before my master’s year at Leeds. I started as an English teacher until I found an in-house job at a translation agency. I then became a freelance translator for a short period just before coming to Leeds in order to save money for my studies 

What made you want to apply to your MA course and to Leeds?

I chose Audiovisual Translation because I wanted to explore a more creative field in the translation industry, as well as combine translation and film – areas that I had always been very passionate about. 

I researched Audiovisual Translation programmes in the UK and found out through the British Council that Leeds was among the best ones in translation. I ended up choosing Leeds because of the modules offered. 

What aspects of the course did you enjoy the most?  

The subtitling modules were my favourites. The wide range of different subtitling software we used was brilliant. These modules also addressed audiovisual translation studies, which is translation theory specialized in audiovisual. I found this particularly interesting as well. 

In addition to the modules themselves, the weekly Professionalisation Talks was definitely a highlight of the programme. They gave me a very clear insight into what it is like to work in different sectors in the translation industry in the UK and in Europe. 

What would you say about the learning facilities in your School and at the University in general?

They are fantastic when it comes to technology. In my School, we have specialised translation and subtitling software available in a dedicated computer cluster. In the libraries, we can easily find every material we need for research purposes. If we decide to study from home, we can always use Desktop Anywhere and access our drive in the school network. It’s brilliant. 

What do you plan to do now you’ve finished your course, and how do you think the skills and knowledge you’ve developed at Leeds will help with these plans?

I planned to stay in the UK and get some work experience before going back to my home country. In summer, I found a job in London as a Project Manager in a Transcreation Agency. I feel the Masters at Leeds had prepared me very well for this challenging new role. I use the knowledge I’ve learned at Leeds on a daily basis!