Joanna Oleksy, a Masters student in Multimedia and Written Translation Studies, reflects on her experience of an internship at the Europeana Foundation and role as a translator working with digital cultural heritage.
I applied for an internship at Europeana to broaden my work experience and build my CV during the final semester of my MA in Multimedia and Written Translation Studies. This was a voluntary participation, as I had already completed all the internship hours required by my institution (Adam Mickiewicz’s University in Poznań) during an earlier placement with another company.
What convinced me to apply was the fact that Europeana offers the opportunity to work in a multicultural and multilingual environment and specialises in creating space for cultural heritage. I was curious to translate for museum collections and to find out what it’s like to work in a remote team for a foundation focused on culture and history. My internship took place entirely online, as I’m based in Poland, and I truly appreciated the opportunity to gain experience remotely while working with Europeana.
I found working on texts prepared by the Audience Engagement Team a really interesting and actually very fun activity. I even found myself wondering whether I was enjoying my tasks a little too much for a three-month job. The texts I translated were both informative and concise, so I absorbed all the knowledge and fun facts while reading them. I can confidently say that this internship not only contributed to my professional development but also to my personal growth.
While translating stories on Europeana’s blog, I became familiar with the autobiographies of talented painters and inspiring historical figures I had either never heard of or previously knew little about. I also learned many interesting historical facts that, if not for this internship, I probably wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.
In total, I translated over 30 stories into Polish on Europeana.eu and improved the translations of static pages text to make them clearer for Polish readers. I also prepared guidelines for future translators working with the Polish language. This was a great way to summarise my experience at Europeanae Foundation and reflect on my translation decisions.
One of my other tasks was to help with the multimedia translation of a promotional video for the multilingual search functionality on Europeana.eu. It was my first experience, outside of my university courses, with translating content that would actually be used in a published video. It was a simple yet very exciting task. I had a task to translate an unconventional piece for me, outside of popular science texts. I translated instructions, which encouraged me to think a little differently.
The final part of my internship included an invitation to attend Europeana 2025, held under the patronage of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU at the POLIN Museum of Polish Jews in Warsaw. I had the chance to meet some of my co-workers in person and experience for the first time, what it’s like to help organise and attend such an event. I found one presentation especially interesting. I learned there about a project one company had, in which they presented the museums’ technological advancement by using AI to engage young kids during their museum trips in very innovative ways.
What I found especially helpful and professional on Europeana’s part was the encouraging and approachable attitude of all the team members and employees I interacted with. Communication was smooth, and everyone I worked with was eager to explain things and show me around if I had any questions. The work culture at Europeana consists of a healthy mix of expertise, strong management skills, and a very humane approach - one that prioritises work-life balance and takes employees’ mental load into account when assigning deadlines.
Working with the Audience Engagement Team at the Europeana Foundation has been one of the best professional experiences I’ve had so far. I finally got the chance to see what it’s really like to work as a remote translator, outside of academic theory. This internship is a great opportunity for future translators to gain not only valuable professional experience, but also to experience a unique work culture and learn new, fascinating things.
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