Room 11, Great Northern House, Great Northern Terrace, LINCOLN, LN5 8HJ, England. Tel: 01522 525330; Fax: TBC; Email: kevin@harperk.co.uk; Web site: www.harperk.co.uk

A translator drawing on expertise in language and technology, translation experience, document layout and computing skills, and professional quality.

Name

Kevin Harper BEng, PDip, MA, DipTransIoLET

Date of Birth

1973

Place of Birth

Great Britain

Parents

Father: Civil Engineer
Mother: Teacher

Primary Schools

1978-1981 Lakeside County First School, Frimley, Surrey
1981-1983 Lakeside County Middle School, Frimley, Surrey

Secondary School

1983-1989 Dulwich College, London
10 GCSEs: French (A), Physics (A), Religious Studies (B), German (B), Geography (B), CDT (Design and Realisation) (B), Chemistry (B), Mathematics (B), English Language (C), English Literature (C).
Oxford & Cambridge Board Additional French (B).

Sixth Form College

1989-1991 Farnborough (Sixth Form) College, Farnborough, Hants
3 A-Levels: French (B), German (C), English (C).
Non-examined general studies included: Drama, Moral Education, Computing, Reading for Pleasure, Money Management, Note-Taking.

MA in Chinese Studies
University of Leeds, 2003

Chinese Language: Chinese Language 2 (comprehensive language skills at bachelors' 3rd year level); Chinese Language 3 (bilateral translation and composition at bachelors' finals level)
Chinese Studies: China's Political Economy; China: Politics and Development; Dissertation entitled Transfer of Manufacturing Technology to the People's Republic of China from Abroad
Research Subjects: Research Methods and Computing Skills: preparation for writing dissertation, using Word, HTML, research tools.

Postgraduate Diploma in Vocational Techniques for Career Linguists - Merit
University of Kent at Canterbury, 1996

Dutch: ab initio Dutch translation and Dutch oral skills
French: advanced translation skills and basic interpreting. Texts in subject areas relating to technology and international politics, as well as a range of specialised areas (see Other Subjects).
German: advanced translation skills and basic interpreting. Texts in subject areas relating to domestic technology and economics, as well as a range of specialised areas (see Other Subjects).
Other Subjects: use of computers (word-processing, spreadsheets, databases, the Internet), Introduction to Engineering (1 year). Also included introductions to a wide range of subjects including insurance, finance, business correspondence, economics, electronics, telecommunications, oil exploration, polymers, materials, packaging, transport, materials handling, nuclear power, lasers, law, patents, trade marks.

BEng in European Engineering (German) IIii
University of Wales, Swansea, 1995

German, mechanical engineering and areas of business.
German: German General Language (3 years), Engineering Language (3 years), Post-War German Politics (Landeskunde), Green Politics and Society in Germany, German Literature of the 1960s and 1970s, year abroad at the Technische Universität Graz, Austria.
Mechanical Engineering: Manufacturing Technology (2 years), Design of Manufacturing Systems, Materials, Fluid Mechanics (3 years), Dynamics (3 years), Thermodynamics (3 years), Statics, Design for Avoidance of Failure, Employment Law, Financial Management, Mathematics (3 years), Electrical Engineering, Management Science, Computer-Aided Engineering, Numerical Methods, Finite Element Analysis.
Project: Ecobalances, an Example of their Use in the Printing Industry.

July-September 1996 - Eurologos, Brussels

In-house translator. Translated from Dutch, French and German into English. Also checked the translations of colleagues.
Subject areas covered were mainly of a general, commercial or political nature, but included some technical texts, such as instructions for a pump system.

October 1996

Unemployed jobseeker, except for a short translation project at Bain & Company in London, and experience at a French-style café in Canterbury.

November 1996-January 1997 Boots the Chemist, Canterbury

Cashier: involved operating checkouts, shelf-filling, helping customers (including French-speaking ones).
At the same time, I was applying for positions as a translator in Great Britain. Worked on a single translation project (legal French) on a freelance basis during this period.

February 1997-December 1998 - COMTEC Translations, Leamington Spa

Translator/Checker: translated from Dutch, French and German into English, as well as checking translations in a variety of languages. Subject areas included automotive and other technical translation.
Project Coordinator: administration and management of translation projects, including holding a customer portfolio. Also performed some sales and marketing roles, such as promoting the translation company at a technical trade fair in Birmingham.
Technical Support Assistant: basic system administration and technical support tasks, including covering holidays for technical support.
Training: on-the-job training included familiarisation with office administration and the ISO 9002 quality system. Other training included seminars on team-working, time management, negotiation skills and telephone manner. Also attended the first term of a BTEC professional development course in computing, and weekly in-house Chinese classes (for 8 months).

January 1999 to present - Freelance Translator

Translations and proofreading from Dutch, French and German into English and, since 2003, Chinese into English.
Areas covered by texts include: general commercial texts, software documentation, patents, telecommunications, mechanical engineering, law and finance.
Customers include: thebigword, Tetras, s.r.o., Accurate Translations Limited, NSK Steering Systems Europe Ltd., Lifeline Language Services Ltd., St. Clair Bull & Partner Fremdsprachen-Consulting Gbr, Birotech BVBA, La Lingua BVBA, Polydioma BV, Nissan Motor Manufacturing (UK) Limited 

Computer Skills

Familiar with Microsoft Office software, especially Word 2003. Also able to use Excel, PowerPoint and Access. Regularly use Trados Translator's Workbench as a translation memory tool.
Familiar with Internet and programming formats such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript and VBA. Have also used FORTRAN, Pascal and Visual Basic in the past.
Have covered computer applications for mechanical engineering in my first degree.

Languages

Mother tongue: English
Fluent: German, French, Dutch and Chinese

Driving Licence

I hold a full, clean driving licence.

Interests

Interested in film-making, tenpin bowling and looking after my friends' dogs.

Positions of Responsibility

At school, I was form captain, school altar server, prayer coordinator on a mission committee, and a Sunday school teacher.