ON SITE: Aarhus University - Technical Communication as profession

Thank you to the 40 participants in the career event with Aarhus University, where we looked at technical communication as profession. We had a special focus on work practices and how you can use your language and communication degree to kick-start a career within technical communication.

An extra big thank you to Tina Paulsen Christensen, associate professor at Aarhus University, for the cooperation and for hosting the event as a part of the technical communication course.

On behalf of Aarhus University Tina welcomed the participants, and on behalf of tekom Maiken (virtually via a prerecorded video), Per and Steen welcomed and gave a short introduction to tekom Europe/tekom Danmark. We share some of the highlights from the presentations below.

Three former students presented their career paths

tekom Danmark had invited three former students from Aarhus University to speak about their career paths and inspire the students. They all hold different positions within the field of technical communication. The speakers were: 

Ilze Lande Knudsen, Lead Technical Editor and Product Owner Language Technologies, Grundfos. Topic: My career path and how we work with technical documentation at Grundfos. Which competencies do you need to work with technical documentation at Grundfos.

Tine Hertz, Global Machine Safety and Documentation Manager, BAADER Food Systems Denmark A/S. Topic: My career path, documentation in a global setup at BAADER, machinery safety and how it relates to documentation, and leadership of documentation staff in a global perspective.

Mads Holmsgaard Eriksen, Content Strategist, Milestone Systems A/S. Topic: Intro to the importance of effective communication in today's technology-driven world, including technical communication and its related fields. 

They each told about their journeys through their exciting career paths. From the end of the studies to their current job. Although all three have completed the same course of study and today work in technical communication, their paths have been very different. It was very interesting to hear their stories and how they got to the positions they have today.

Food for thought and reflection

The three stories from real life gave the current students a lot of inspiration on how to start a career in technical communication. Some of the points that the presenters touched on were:

• What is technical communication?
• Where do you work with technical communication?
• What skills are required?
• How do I start my career?

In the presentations, there were also a lot of practical examples from the tasks that the presenters have had in their careers.

In addition, the students were given an introduction to tekom and the opportunities offered there, and they were informed about the possibility of becoming a student member of tekom completely free of charge.

After the presentations, there was time for questions and networking and the option for companies to meet students and students to meet companies. There were some good talks and discussions, e.g. about tekom, the opportunities for education and about job opportunities both nationally and internationally.

The event was a great success and we expect to host a similar event next year.