about the team
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Veerle Vanderplasschen| Director and Project Director A NAATI Professional Translator, Veerle holds a European Masters and Bachelors degree in Translation Science for French, Spanish and Dutch. She was awarded both degrees with distinction from the prestigious Hogeschool Gent in Belgium, renowned for producing some of the best translators and interpreters in the European Union. Veerle's Masters thesis studied the decisions made by simultaneous interpreters when confronted with speakers' ‘errors’ and ‘error corrections’. Her research received a high distinction. In addition to her translation degrees, Veerle spent several years studying Law, Hindi and Sanskrit at the Rijksuniversiteit Gent (RUG) in Belgium, and successfully completed six years of Latin and Ancient Greek in secondary education. Until August 2010 Veerle was the Vice-Treasurer of the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators Inc. (AUSIT) QLD Committee and to date she remains a member of various other AUSIT committees aimed at actively promoting and furthering the translation and interpreting profession. Veerle relocated to Brisbane in 2003 and was subsequently recruited by the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Alliance Française to teach French to first-year university students and adults until 2005. |
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Joanna Shirriffs| Project Manager Joanna holds a BA (Joint Hons) degree in French and German from the University of Leeds in the UK, gaining a 2:1, with a distinction in French. She also holds a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict studies from the University of Sydney (Merit), and is currently studying part-time for a Master’s in Translation Studies. Joanna has extensive experience as a project manager, starting her career in 1996 as a project manager with a UK Investment Bank (Barclays Capital), working in both London and Paris on projects including the euro conversion, money laundering compliance, and financial system development. She left Barclays Capital in 2000 and came to Australia to complete her Master’s degree. When she went back to the UK she taught Peace Studies to Masters level, before moving to Scotland in 2003 where she was recruited as a project manager with the local Education Authority, and then as a Policy Manager with the Regional Council, responsible for Equality, Health Improvement and Strategic development. Joanna has always maintained a love for Australia, returning in 2006 for an extended holiday, before finally relocating with her family from Scotland to Brisbane in June 2010. |
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Sonja Braun | Project Assistant Sonja Braun holds a European Bachelor in Translation Studies in English, French and Spanish awarded by the Fachbereich Angewandte Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaften (FASK) Germersheim in Germany in 2009. After her 6 month stint in Brussels, Le Mons and Strasbourg, completely immersed in the French language and culture, Sonja was drawn towards Australia to further her ‘experiences abroad’ in the country “down under” that she had fallen in love with eight years ago. Recruited by Absolute Translations, she arrived in Brisbane in March 09. When back in Germany, she will continue her studies and complete a Masters Degree in Translation Studies. When she is not pursuing her job as a project assistant, Sonja is very likely to get lost in the world of photography. |
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Kaushal Gunaratne| Creative Director (Digital Glare) In 2002, upon completing a Bachelors of Multimedia at Griffith University, Kaushal joined the two founders of Vision 6 Pty Ltd, currently one of the largest email marketing companies in Australia, to help build their creative design division. During this period Kaushal worked with some of Australia’s biggest brands and advertising agencies such as BMW, Queensland Government, Michael Hill, RACQ, Dick Smith Electronics, Stockland, Ray White Commercial, Adcorp, BCM and PubilicisMOJO. At present Kaushal continues to work as Vision 6’s Multimedia Manager, sharing his extensive knowledge of best practice email marketing and design with Vision 6’s team and clients. |
