Virtual university offering permanent work
Thread poster: Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:54
French to English
Feb 25, 2017

A virtual university is currently offering permanent work posted as a translation job. The job involves translating lessons that are 20 minutes long. This is no ordinary translation job, but one that invovles not only specialist knowledge of a subject area but also subtitling skills. The job is being offered at 5-6 USD per lesson. This takes more than 20 minutes to do. This is slave labour. I find it shocking that an educational establishment, whose business is all about education and training, ... See more
A virtual university is currently offering permanent work posted as a translation job. The job involves translating lessons that are 20 minutes long. This is no ordinary translation job, but one that invovles not only specialist knowledge of a subject area but also subtitling skills. The job is being offered at 5-6 USD per lesson. This takes more than 20 minutes to do. This is slave labour. I find it shocking that an educational establishment, whose business is all about education and training, expects the very type of people they say they aim to educate, to work for less than a couple of dollars an hour, perhaps less, depending on content. Seriously?



[Edited at 2017-02-25 14:39 GMT]

[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2017-02-28 13:41 GMT]
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Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 06:54
Italian to English
From what I gather... Feb 25, 2017

...it's an Italian-based institute which aims to offer an affordable university education to students in African countries. While I truly hope their aims are honorable, their website (and this job offer) doesn’t inspire much confidence.

 
DarwinE
DarwinE  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 00:54
Spanish to English
+ ...
Wow Feb 26, 2017

I hope there was a typo in those rates. PER lesson?

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 05:54
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Fishy? Feb 26, 2017

If they are an Italian-based institute why is their international calling country code from Guinea?

 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 06:54
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
On the matter of typos Feb 26, 2017

Oops for "Virutal".

Delocalising a call centre is not unusual. However, put together with other details such as the very European images yet the fact that fees are only given for African countries makes the whole thing pretty fishy.

The typo for the per word rate is obvious, but the silly thing is the per job rate.

Anyway, more than 100 people have apparently submitted bids. Good luck to 'em!
... See more
Oops for "Virutal".

Delocalising a call centre is not unusual. However, put together with other details such as the very European images yet the fact that fees are only given for African countries makes the whole thing pretty fishy.

The typo for the per word rate is obvious, but the silly thing is the per job rate.

Anyway, more than 100 people have apparently submitted bids. Good luck to 'em!

[Edited at 2017-02-26 16:04 GMT]
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Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 06:54
Italian to English
One vote for "Virutal" Feb 27, 2017

I love "virutal"!!! Shall we contact the OED??

I say the institute is based in Italy because it has a "pec" email address (posta elettronica certificata - certified email address), a system currently operating only in Hong Kong and Italy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_email), also three out of the four
... See more
I love "virutal"!!! Shall we contact the OED??

I say the institute is based in Italy because it has a "pec" email address (posta elettronica certificata - certified email address), a system currently operating only in Hong Kong and Italy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certified_email), also three out of the four Deans are Italian.

I don't have a problem with a Western country offering affordable education programmes to students in poorer countries... on the contrary! I just hope that they are genuinely offering what they say they are. But that said, their translators should be offered a decent wage, since it is unlikely that most professional translators working in the requested language pairs live in the same countries as their target students. And even if they did, I don't believe that a job should be paid less simply because it is done in a country where living costs are lower - translation does not magically take less time, effort and expertise because it is done in Sierra Leone instead of London. But I also know that's not how the market works. But these rates are shameful regardless.

The description of what they offer their students, given on their website, is also somewhat perplexing. Again, I truly hope they are offering concrete prospects to poorer students. But the English on the site does not bode well. "*** University is open 365 days a year, 24/24h. You can attend a class or take an exam from your house or everywhere has an internet connection. Education at the *** University is excellent with an entirely virtual campus at your disposal where you can find all you need: Classrooms, teacher’s Office, a library and the Great Hall, students associations, a student Pub, a sport centre… etc. Get into the Reception Office and check our offer. You can also check the availability of scholarships. Make something to Change your Future! Give to your education an High Quality Level. Be OUTSTANDING!"
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Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 05:54
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Fascinating ... Feb 27, 2017

... a virutal student pub ... where you can drink virutal beer? How would such a pub work in practice?

 
Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 06:54
Italian to English
It's easy! Feb 27, 2017

This is the way of the future!!! Don't you see? You can get virtually drunk at the virtual pub, and wake up with a virtual hangover. Then you can get thee down to the virtual sports centre, where you can work up a virtual sweat, before heading down to the Virtual Great Hall, whatever that is.

Real life is so 2016, don't you think?


 
Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 05:54
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Of course ... Feb 27, 2017

Fiona Grace Peterson wrote:

This is the way of the future!!! Don't you see? You can get virtually drunk at the virtual pub, and wake up with a virtual hangover. Then you can get thee down to the virtual sports centre, where you can work up a virtual sweat, before heading down to the Virtual Great Hall, whatever that is.

Real life is so 2016, don't you think?


Silly me! I didn't think it through properly, Fiona.


 
Mair A-W (PhD)
Mair A-W (PhD)
Germany
Local time: 06:54
German to English
+ ...
Virtually virtuous Feb 27, 2017

Do you learn virtual English at this virtual institution?

 
Fiona Grace Peterson
Fiona Grace Peterson  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 06:54
Italian to English
@Mair Feb 27, 2017

Mair A-W (PhD) wrote:

Do you learn virtual English at this virtual institution?


You can learn virtually anything!


 


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Virtual university offering permanent work






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