Exploring Erasmus Mundus Scholarships
When it comes to offering a wide range of scholarships for various masters and research courses, there aren’t many resources that can beat Erasmus Mundus. The European Commission offers these scholarships under the education and training services. The scholarships are available for undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and post-doctoral studies for students all over the world. Trainers and teachers have also been covered under the scholarship scheme which gives academicians a great opportunity to sharpen their skills under a prestigious fellowship programme.
The courses covered range from art and agriculture studies to business management and technology. Apart from the well known and desired courses, offbeat courses such as ship design, early childhood care, vision and robotics are offered. With these scholarships, the options available are practically endless and it’s really difficult to find a programme that is not covered. The programmes are offered in prestigious European Universities that boast of intellectually stimulating and multicultural ambiences. Some of the programmes are jointly offered by two or more universities. This gives a student the opportunity to experience diverse campus cultures and brings him/her in close contact with some of the best academic minds.
To see a complete list of scholarships on offer and application procedures, visit this link.
Explore, Learn and Decide
Many of us, prior to looking for a job, have the impression that whatever we are doing in our classrooms and laboratories are exactly what we will be doing in professional life. In a way we view work as an extension of our student life. There is no denying that our education is equipping us with certain skills and theories which will be put to practice once we step into the professional sphere, but there are a lot of other things we need to know and be prepared for. As long as we were students, we never really knew what deadlines mean in the industry, how critical a project and its timely execution can be and how quickly we need to think and improvise. Often our services might be required for something apart from our projects and it will be expected from us that we adapt and deliver.
As the course comes to an end and thoughts of starting work dawn, it is important to research and get to know more about the functioning of different companies. A good idea about the structures of various organizations, big and small, will go a long way in giving aspirants an idea about what to expect. It is important, in my opinion, to look at the various profiles, develop an understanding of the core and added responsibilities, get to know the management and explore opportunities to grow and learn. Working for big companies will enable you to boast of a name and expose you to an assembly-line style of work but ascent will take time and the work can get monotonous. New and smaller companies can be a little disorganized and might want employees to figure things out on their own but offer flexibility and quick growth.
A decision has to be taken regarding what kind of exposure and work-experience would one like before taking up the first job. Once that decision is made, a lot of things become clear.
Exploring Technical Writing Jobs
Time to look at another prominent and attractive opening in the domain of language and communication, namely, technical writing. A basic research reveals that almost all big and small companies in the industry have requirements for technical writers. So if you happen to be good with the English language and are looking for a job that involves writing and also exposes you to cutting edge technology and latest products launched by different companies then technical writing could be a profile you will enjoy.
Most companies would require you to write about their products, launches and other news related to their research. So you will be writing user manuals, designing brochures and working closely with the development team to form a good understanding of the offerings of your company. As a technical writer, you will be catering to all the users of your company’s products and that can be a big number. You need to remember that your audience will consist of people with and without an understanding of technology so your writing should explain things in a clear and straightforward manner.
People generally get put off by a lot of text so you will have to cultivate a skill for designing. If you take a look at the user manuals of products launched by some big names, you will see almost every page carries pictures, illustrations and the text is arranged in short paragraphs. Often buletted points are used so that the main features get highlighted. If you are trying to explain to your clients how to operate a product, it is important that you show the various processes through pictures in addition to writing the steps down. Using different font colours and formatting will make your work visually appealing. You can consider using different background colours for different sections. Needless to say that a good knowledge of MS Office and a few photo-editing software will be an added advantage.
As for the origin of technical writing, I got a surprising piece of information in the process of finding out more about it. According to Wikipedia, the practice of technical writing can be traced back to ancient Greece and the Renaissance (fourteenth to seventeenth centuries). However, the full fledged utilisation of it came into being during the first world war when a lot of technical documentation was required by the military,manufacturing, electronics and aerospace industries.