Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship 2016 Edition Launched

The 2016 edition of the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship has been launched.

Through Adopt a School’s #InspiredMe Campaign, Microsoft and Tabarin Consulting Certiport’s distributor for Kenya are partnering to make Microsoft Office Specialist trainings and exams accessible to all learners in the country – including those in Kenyan public schools. Over 50 beneficiary schools are targeted this year, to enable 2,500 students from public and rural schools acquire industry skill certifications, job readiness and international exposure.

The aim is to provide each beneficiary school with the relevant e-books, practice tests, relevant infrastructure such as Microsoft IT Academy and certification exams, to enable 50 students to participate in the MOSWC 2016 Edition.

The World Championship, presented by Certiport Inc., is a global competition that tests students’ skills in Microsoft Office Word, Excel® and PowerPoint®. Top students are invited to represent their respective countries at the World Championship in the United States of America. The national qualifying round for the first ever Kenyan edition of Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship was concluded on June 15th 2015, with participants from different academic institutions and the public library enrolling for the competition.

Young scholars, aged between 13 and 22 years were recognized for their exemplary performance in Microsoft Word 2010 and 2013, Microsoft Excel® 2010 and 2013, or Microsoft PowerPoint® 2010 and 2013. Of these, six student competitors proceeded to represent Kenya in Dallas, Texas from August 9th to 12th, 2015 sponsored by Northpole College. One of the six student competitors, Jatinkumar Waghela was listed in the Top 10 worldwide rankings in the Excel® 2013 category globally. The best six competitors from public schools will travel to the Orlando, Florida, USA for the 2016 championship from August 7^th-10^th, 2016.

Tabarin Consulting Managing Director George Kiptalam described the trip to the US as an eye-opener for discerning students keen on taking up IT challenges in development of software applications for various uses in the modern world. “This has given them confidence to take on any challenge in the world and this experience will become a valuable asset as they continue their academic and professional careers, and it is sustainable in that it provides a framework for long-term success to be globally competitive in matters ICT in Kenya.” he said.

“Students use Office every day for school work and activities that are most important to them. Office not only helps students stay organized and get their work done today but at the same time develops skills that will be required when they enter the work force. In fact, no other software or services show up in the top 20 most important skills identified in a recent research report,” Kunle Awosika, Microsoft Kenya’s Country Manager said. “We are thrilled to partner with Certiport to help improve the students’ skills and knowledge of Microsoft Office in order to give them a competitive advantage when entering the workforce,” he added.

Now in its 14th year, the 2015 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship has so far attracted more than 800,000 unique candidates from 127 countries who compete to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office products. One hundred and forty-five student finalists participated in the final round of competition.