Where can you get a professional development opportunity that is unlike any other and free of charge? From STC, of course! Volunteering your time and expertise to judge in the International Summit Awards gives you valuable experience that you just can’t get anywhere else. Past judges often comment on how rewarding the judging experience was for them, even as it stretched their abilities and introduced them to new ways of thinking about technical communication. But it’s not for everybody. If you think you have what it takes and are ready to take what it gives, I’m pleased to invite you to apply to be a judge.
As the Judge Manager for the 2015 STC International Summit Awards (ISA), I again anticipate what I consider a professional privilege—to work with STC colleagues around the globe, who volunteer their expertise as ISA judges and without whom the ISA competition would not be possible.
My work with the ISA Committee gives me the chance to collaborate with so many professionals with whom I’d likely not cross paths otherwise. It is my pleasure to serve as judge mentor, mediator, and team coach, while always advocating on behalf of the entrants who will receive the judges’ assessments of their entries. The past two years’ ISA experiences demonstrated a heightened conscientiousness on the part of judges in providing substantive, quality comments to all entrants regardless of the final award decisions.
The ISA Committee expects to continue that standard of excellence as we announce the Call for Judges for the 2015 competition. This year we want to tweak ISA credibility to outsiders by limiting the judge pool to trained STC members only. We invite current STC members in good standing to apply to judge in the upcoming competition based on at least two of the following qualifications:
- Senior membership in STC.
- Five years in technical communication or a related field.
- Teaching experience in communication or a related field.
- Master’s degree or higher in technical communication or a related field.
- CPTC or other certification from a related professional organization.
- Winner of an STC or other technical communication competition award.
- Three years’ experience in the category you want to judge.
For more information about judge requirements and the judging schedule, please download the STC ISA Handbook for Judges. To volunteer your expertise, complete the online application at: 2015 ISA Judge Application
The deadline for judge applications is February 9, 2015. If you have questions, you may contact Paula Robertson.
Thanks for taking the time to consider whether you can contribute your unique expertise to the STC International Summit Awards in the upcoming year.