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Technical Writing - your key to success today! |
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1. What
is the reason behind starting this course? Do you foresee a
rise in the demand for technical writers? When did you
decide to start this course?
We see professional writing as a subsection of journalism,
and an area for which there is increasing demand. Some of
the professional writing genres are screen-writing,
preparing newsletters and publicity folders, advertising
copy...and technical writing. Tech writing too has its own
specializations. Translations differ from medical
literature, and user instructions (for equipment) differ
from travel writing - and all these are what is known as
Tech writing. So yes, the demand is growing for skills of
clarity of expression (esp. in English, but not only in
English) wedded to the specialized knowledge of a product or
service. XIC believes in training its
students for market opportunities as and when they occur, so
yes, we've been thinking of Tech writing for some time.
Since about six months, to be precise.
Still it probably wouldn't have taken off, had LionBridge
not first approached us. |
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2. Who
are the other faculty (teaching and non-teaching) members of
XIC who are actively involved in this project?
At this writing, there are no faculty members who are doing
any teaching in the course. The first
batch is being trained entirely by line managers and experts
from Lionbridge. It is proposed that over a period of time,
we will work on a ‘train the trainer’ concept and transfer
some of the curriculum delivery to a ‘professional trainer’.
Lionbridge will continue to participate in some key sections
where it would like to share its experience. |
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3. Why
Lionbridge and not any other e-learning company?
Why LionBridge ? Well, simply because they have an
international reputation in a variety of TechWriting fields,
and - as the phrase is - they got to us first.
Today, the BPO wave is throwing up new and very interesting
opportunities for us. Technical Writing is one such avenue
that has opened up new career streams for a whole genre of
individuals who are proficient in the use of the English
language. Lionbridge has a significant
presence in Technical Writing. Given its business visibility
in this line of business, the increasing demand for
technical writers in India and the demand-supply gap, it was
only natural for the organization to think about sharing its
industry experience and expertise to create more ‘writers’
to feed the demand. XIC, with its
formidable reputation in the academic world, was the
‘partner of choice’ for Lionbridge. |
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4. Do you intend to have
another batch? If yes, when? Will the fees remain the same? |
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Yes, there will be another batch starting in March 2008.
Will also probably retain the fee structure. |
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5. When there are so many
different kinds of technical writing, why is the course
duration so short? Has the number of students been
restricted to twenty per batch so that more personal
attention could be given to each? |
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The Course duration is in keeping with
the standard course duration of other similar courses
offered elsewhere in the country. This is also consistent
with the amount of training that Lionbridge imparts to its
own staff, who get into Technical Writing.
The class strength for the first batch is
8. We rejected 42 candidates to arrive at these 8. Basic
language skills are a must and the ‘screening test’
evaluated them on just that. We did not compromise on the
‘quality of input’ as we wanted a 100% success rate.
It is proposed to restrict the class
strength to a max. of 15 - 20 participants for subsequent
batches, so as to retain the focus on quality of teaching
and individual attention to each participant.
For the first batch, we did not spend too
much on publicity. Besides, such concepts spread rapidly
through word of mouth. The interesting fact is that we
already have 3 confirmed participants for our second batch
which we haven’t yet announced ! Once participants from the
first batch are successfully placed (either in Lionbridge or
elsewhere), we’re confident we will see a surge in the
number of people wanting to join this course. |
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6. Why are no classes
being held at the XIC campus? |
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This is just a temporary decision for the
first batch, since students from this batch found commuting
to Powai more convenient. We will always retain the option
to hold classes at XIC - this will solely be decided on
students’ convenience. Notwithstanding that, some key events
- like the inaugural session, the Certificate Awarding
Ceremony etc. will be held at XIC. |
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7. How will the course
benefit the students? |
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This course will open up new career
opportunities for them. Technical writers have a very good
demand in the market today. Many of the Lionbridge Technical
Writers, who have been with the organization for a year or
so, have already been sent on-site to work with customers on
new projects. On-site exposure at an early stage in their
career, adds value to their overall profile.
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Xavier Institute of
Communications (XIC) is a brand name in the field
of communication education, a pioneer with several decades’
experience. It is well known for the variety and quality of
its communication training courses.
Email:
admin@xaviercomm.org
Tel: 2262 1366
LionBridge Technologies Pvt Ltd
is a reputed organization with acknowledged expertise in the
field of software
development, online training and technical writing.
mum.loc@lionbridge.com |
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