My name is Gwen Suys, I am a Belgian Citizen who migrated to Australia 2 years ago. My mother tongue is Dutch and I have a Master’s Degree in Translation English/German obtained at Vlekho in Brussels (Belgium).

During the first two years of my education the emphasis was mainly on the acquisition of vocabulary and grammatical structures of the foreign languages as well as on the correct use of my mother tongue Dutch. We were also introduced to the principles of translation and interpreting. In the last two years of my education we practised translation of different types of texts such as Finance and Economics, Media and Essays, Technology and Science and Law and Administration. We mainly translated from English or German into Dutch but we practised the other way around as well. For my thesis I translated a German children’s book into Dutch which was published in Belgium and The Netherlands by Davidsfonds/Infodok with ISBN 90-76997-10-7. While I was studying to become a Translator I did some freelance work for a translation agency in Brussels. They asked me to set up a multilingual terminology database for the energy sector.

After graduating I worked for Jan De Nul NV in Aalst (Belgium) for 5 years. Jan De Nul NV is a large, international dredging company and a leader in the maritime and civil construction industry. They also specialise in environmental remediation works. I worked at the head office as translator and document controller and practiced my foreign language skills on a day-to-day basis. Some of the texts I translated included:
- Promotional texts
- Technical documents and Method Statements
- Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Police Checks, Diplomas and Certificates
- Vessel Certificates
- QA-HSE Documents such as Standard Operating Procedures, Information sheets on working with dangerous chemicals.
- Articles of Association, Documents from the Trade Register and Taxation Office
- Financial Statements
- Newspaper Articles

I have recently started my own business as freelance translator and I am available for translations English-Dutch, German-Dutch, German-English, Dutch-English.