Founders and leaders of the internationally acknowledged enterprises “Today Translations” and “Today Advisory“ (http://www.todaytranslations.com/ and http://www.todayadvisory.com/) Jurga Žilinskienė and David Clarke have visited our faculty and held lectures for three days for students of various study programmes. Guests from London had an open discussion on the experience in establishing and expanding an enterprise, which once a dream turned into a global phenomenon now comprising 2600 linguists all over the world who translate to/from more than 200 languages.
Open discussion on leadership
The first day was devoted to conversation about leadership (Do you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur? Are you a democratic, consultative or oppressive leader?).They searched for the answers to the questions:What does it mean to be a good leader, what qualities does it require?Can everyone become a leader? What kind of leader can we become and what leadership model is the most suitable for us?The cycle of lectures which gathered full auditoriums of students did not only provide theoretical insights on leadership and importance of knowledge but also discussed cases from their own experience; guests invited students to join the discussions on how to deal with difficulties at work, how to act in one or another situation. “How would you act if…? What would you do if…?” – asked the lecturers.
What does the employer search for?
Second day’s lectures were devoted to the topics on the development of fundamental personal features (“Innovation not imitation. The new generation of tech-savvy superheroes. Decoding the lives of geeks and non-geeks”). An intensive discussion followed on why it is important not only to have great knowledge in one or another area but also to be an enthusiast who is capable of using the already attained knowledge and to always improve. Lecturers discussed features which the employer always notices: employee’s abilities, honesty, positive attitude, loyalty to the enterprise. Discussing the requirements for linguists in the enterprises “Today Translations” and “Today Advisory“ J.Žilinskienė and D. Clarke mentioned that it is important not only to know the language but also to have specific knowledge which makes the employee exceptional in the market. Guests also discussed the relation between language and computerized technologies in the translation enterprise, invited students of translation and informatics to discuss the usable computer programmes.
The third day was devoted to practical aspects of career development (“Your future. Are you equipped to compete and win in the global race? 8 magical secrets to career acceleration”) – conversations about career opportunities, advice how to write curriculum vitae and cover letter properly. Successful entrepreneurs from London are certain that the world is constantly changing, opening hundreds of new possibilities for young, educated people to see.
Personal motivational examples
The guests from UK together with the students and lecturers of Vilnius University Kaunas Faculty of Humanities communicated during the lectures as well as the breaks, on Tuesday they participated in a fun get-together with the Lithuanian folklore ensemble “Uosinta”. When asked to share their impressions on Jurga Žilinskienė and David Clark’s lectures students noticed that they were not only informative but also motivational since the lecturers encouraged students to search for and cherish the features of a leader inside themselves and to never give up on their dreams. An impressive personal experience of Jurga Žilinskienė appeared as a very inspiring example for the students. The lecturers who participated in these lectures found the octagonal success model (comprising intuition, belief, motivation, aim, fundamental strong features, etc.) as well as suggested solutions for solving conflicts in the enterprise very interesting.
Everyone who participated in this cycle of lectures were very satisfied with the guests’ open and charming attitude as well as a number of worthy advice they received from these business experts.