ITI Conference 2011

In this first article in a short, irregular series, Matt Young explains why he is so glad he decided to attend the last ITI conference, held in London in 2009. Many ITI members will have had similar experiences, so it is clear that attending the ITI conference quite simply makes good business sense. Once you’ve read Matt’s words, why not let us know your own experiences, using the Comment function at the bottom of the page.

Matt Young MITI explains why he’s glad he attended the ITI conference in 2009.

My decision to attend the 2009 ITI Conference was rather last minute. It meant a weekend away from my wife and (then) new-born son, London is a bit of a trek from my home in Shropshire, and the conference fee of around £300 seemed somewhat expensive.

However, my concerns were short-lived: the quality of the speakers was almost universally excellent, the surroundings (The Institute of Mechanical Engineers) were both comfortable and inspiring, and I was able to meet a number of translators that I had hitherto only known as Twitter names.

Perhaps the most significant benefit from my trip to the conference, however, was an encounter with a previously unknown (to me) translation company who were there to pick up their award for “Best Translation Company”, as voted for by translators.

I figured that if enough of my peers had given them the thumbs up to receive this award, they must be a company worth getting to know. I had a brief chat with their representative who picked up the award and just a few weeks after the conference, I had my first enquiry from them.

Our association has since blossomed and I now count them among my favourite clients.

I have recouped my conference fee may times over thanks to the work they have put my way, and this has fundamentally changed the way I think about attending such events.

Just remember that it takes just one small translation job from one new client to make a return on your investment.