Ursa has been one of BeatBabel’s go-to German translator since the beginning. She has a passion for languages and studied multilingual communication and translation in Germany. She currently lives in Bonn, right along the banks of the Rhine river and is incredibly fortunate to wake up to a view of the old castle “Drachenfels”. However, every now and then she’ll visit and work from the San Diego office, and you’d never guess she wasn’t right at home. Despite her seemingly tranquil life, her profession of choice is intimately linked to her thirst for adventure and passion for different cultures and languages. That’s our Ursa: she could be happy discovering the wilderness in La Paz, Bolivia on her own or translating a video game based on a Hollywood movie (both of which actually happened, by the way!).

She admits that there is not just one thing that inspired her to be a translator: “It just never ends. I love digging into new topics, doing research and sometimes to leave my own comfort zone and excel.” In addition to translation, she dabbles in photography, painting, craftwork and gardening. She loves refurnishing old furniture and planting her own veggies.

When working on a translation project, Ursa never fails to remember that she is part of a team. Similarly, she sees technology as an ally, in the sense that it helps translators maintain quality and consistency. She doesn’t think Machine Translation will ever come to replace a Human translator, but she’s aware there is some work to be done in figuring out how to reap the benefits of the latest technological developments.

When asked about her relationship with BeatBabel, she confesses that: “The BeatBabel team is very special to me. I’m lucky to have met most of them in person and to work at their offices when I’m visiting San Diego. The team is super fun, helpful and a pleasure to work with!”