A student’s experience at TermCoord

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As Luxembourg is one of the most popular multilingual and multicultural places in the world, the University of Luxembourg is probably one of the best choices to study multilingualism and multiculturalism. The Academic Master programme “Learning and Communication in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts” that I follow offers its students classes held by renown international experts, international symposia in partner universities, multilingual and multicultural staff and students as well as workplace training through short-term internships. Due to the collaboration between the university and the European institution, I had the amazing opportunity to do a study visit at the Terminology Coordination Unit of the European Parliament in Luxembourg in January 2019.

The course “Terminology in the EU” held by staff members from the European institution itself at the University of Luxembourg arose my curiosity, and I gained a theoretical insight into the field of terminology work in my first semester of studies. During the three weeks of my study visit, I had the chance to deepen my theoretical knowledge about terminology management and turn it into practice. Assisting the terminology team of the unit, I was especially involved in terminology research and the improvement of the terminology database IATE. My tasks consisted in checking and updating terms, term extraction and term creation. I also collected some experiences in the field of communication by conducting an interview with a famous terminologist and by writing an article for the TermCoord’s website. Moreover, the study visit enabled me to attend some language classes organized by translators and trainees, and to spend one afternoon in the German translation unit. All these tasks and opportunities offered by the TermCoord team allowed me to learn a lot about terminology coordination, translation work and the work procedures of the European institutions. I appreciated not only the working experience but also the welcoming and caring team that integrated me into their work and supported me whenever I needed it.

Thanks a lot to the whole TermCoord team and to the study director Ingrid de Saint-Georges for making it possible for us students to be part of such an impressive project. I enjoyed this valuable and enriching experience very much and I will never forget the three weeks that I spent at the TermCoord unit. I can definitely recommend the study visit to everyone who is interested in terminology work and who wants to experience life at the European institution.


Written by Déborah Platzbecker, study visitor in the area of terminology, master’s degree in “Master in Learning and Communication in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts” at the University of Luxembourg.