Meet Daniela Briffa, one of our Technical Writing Officers within the EU Funding and Proposal Development Department at AcrossLimits.
Daniela comes from a language and linguistics background, with a Bachelor of Arts in English and French, as well as knowledge of Italian, German and Spanish which she has gained over the years both in formal education and outside of academia. After a brief stint in the Masters in Teaching and Learning course at the University of Malta, Daniela decided instead to read for a Master in Translation and Terminology Studies, specialising in Audiovisual Translation.
Since AcrossLimits is heavily involved in EU projects, Daniela believes that having intercultural and linguistic skills is essential in order to communicate effectively with clients, experts and partners abroad.
A steep but rewarding learning curve at AcrossLimits
Daniela started out as a Junior Project Officer, carrying out tasks within the Becoming a Woman Coder and PAITool projects. Although it was a steep learning curve, she believes that working on these projects – including presenting during consortium meetings, organising events, and writing deliverables – has helped her to gain a number of essential skills required for project management, as well as introducing her to the world of EU funding.
Her role in 2021 also extended to coordinator of the AcrossLimits Expert and Business Partner Network, making her the primary contact point for the 50+ experts and business partners which work with AcrossLimits. 5 years on, she still holds this role, and continues to plan the content and logistics for the webinars and newsletters which are especially prepared for the network.
A few years ago, with the division of AcrossLimits into departments, Daniela transitioned to the role of Technical Writing Officer within the EU Funding and Proposal Development Department, which mainly constitutes proposal writing for various EU funded programmes and tenders. While the job is demanding, and can involve late nights and weekends when deadlines are looming, the process is worth it when the finished product is submitted, and especially if it gets funded. Daniela is also the somewhat unofficial proofreader of the department, reading through quasi-finished proposals (sometimes on very short notice!) to ensure they are typo-free and all the information is consistent before submission.
Occasionally, Daniela uses her expertise to carry out any translations into Maltese required for projects. This included a handbook for teachers within the Solution4SLD project. She has also been entrusted with the creation of teaching materials for Maltese and English within Spazju.eu, a space education platform which is tailor-made to the Maltese education system, funded by the European Space Agency. This has turned out to be an effective (and enjoyable) way of putting her brief teaching experience to good use.
Daniela’s favourite aspects about working at AcrossLimits
As cliché as it may sound, one of the best things about working at AcrossLimits is the family environment. Although the company is made up of many diverse personalities and cultures, whenever all (or part of) the group gets together, it’s an immensely enjoyable experience. The annual all-hands meetings, traditionally occurring towards the end of the year, have especially highlighted this. One might think that a remote-working company would struggle to get all its employees to spend time with each other in one location for two days straight, but not with AcrossLimits. In fact, it’s so hard to say goodbye after the all-hands meeting that part of the group still ends up making plans for the next day to spend as much time together as possible!
Another aspect of AcrossLimits which, in Daniela’s opinion, makes it a genuinely healthy place to work, is the team spirit and support. All the members in each department technically have their own roles and responsibilities. However, if a member of the team is drowning in work, the rest of the team quickly steps in to ensure that the work load returns to a manageable level. And this is not limited to intradepartmental relations. As a member of the writing team, Daniela has first-hand experience both of needing help from other departments (such as the Partnerships and the Projects teams) to get a proposal (or multiple proposals!) over the line in time, but also of lending a hand to other departments (such as contributing to Dissemination reports), to ensure that deadlines are met.
This, Daniela, believes, is why the AcrossLimits working experience is hard to beat. The categorisation into departments does not eliminate the possibility of effective interdepartmental work. Rather, it ensures that even if half a department is out of office, there is always someone in one of the departments who can step in and keep the work going.
The possibility of travelling for project events also ranks high on the list of advantages of working at AcrossLimits. While Daniela is a proposal writer and is not generally heavily involved in project implementation, she has occasionally had the opportunity to travel abroad to support other team members in project events, most recently in Rome for the ARCOE Kick-off Meeting and General Assembly. Moreover, in her previous role as project officer for Becoming a Woman Coder, she travelled to Helsinki and Bordeaux in order to give project updates on behalf of AcrossLimits. In Bordeaux, she also got the opportunity to put her linguistic skills to the test by giving a speech in French during the Final Conference.
Given the complex nature of project work, Daniela has found it to be much easier to meet in-person to discuss how to implement the various tasks (as well as indulge in the local gastronomy over a glass of wine!). Moreover, as part of the proposal writing team, she has found it useful to participate in these project meetings in order to stay in touch with the implementation side of projects and reflect this in her writing.
One final aspect which makes AcrossLimits a top place to work is the degree of flexibility and remote working arrangements in place. Since Daniela is also a busy freelance singer in her free time, being able to occasionally alter her working hours to align with other overlapping commitments ensures that she can maintain a good work-life balance without having to give up her hobbies. Remote working also reduces the stress of commuting to the office during rush hour (which in Malta is not a joke!), in turn aiding productivity. Nevertheless, she still welcomes the monthly in-person meetings at the Malta office, since it is a chance to connect with her colleagues and share a laugh or two.
Interests outside of work
When Daniela is not at work, she is most likely indulging in one of her greatest passions – music. She started out playing piano and guitar when she was 7, and then branched out to study classical voice at the age of 12.
Singing has now practically taken over her free time, since she sings as a soprano in 4 different choirs in Malta, including in the KorMalta Chamber. While the constant rehearsals and performances can be tiring, the adrenaline rush after a successful performance is hard to beat. Moreover, singing has allowed Daniela to perform in stunning settings in Malta, such as Mnajdra Temples at sunrise, the Manoel Theatre, the Grandmaster’s Palace, as well as several churches in Malta and Gozo. Daniela has also had the privilege of singing abroad in memorable venues in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium, combining her passion for singing with travelling.
In general, for Daniela, music is one of the best elixirs for the mind and soul (and very motivating to have in the background when writing EU funding proposals!). Her favourite genres are classical, sacred and film/tv soundtracks, but she also loves singing out loud to some pop and rock hit songs.
Moreover, Daniela loves travelling abroad (whether it is for holidays, work trips or for singing purposes) since it allows her to come into contact with other cultures and view the richness and historical landmarks that other countries have to offer. However, as an avid reader of historical fiction, fantasy and romance, she also believes that reading books can “let you travel without moving your feet” (Jhumpa Lahiri).