The winners of the 2018 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship have been announced by IT certification exam provider Certiport, with Isle of Man student Adam Drummond being named the bronze medalist for Microsoft Word® 2016.
Adam, a 15-year-old student at St. Ninian’s High School on the Isle of Man, was sponsored by Certiport partner Prodigy Learning after winning the MOS Four Nations Championship Final.
In its 17th year the competition attracted more than 760,000 candidates from 116 countries, a 35% increase in participation year-over-year. Students entered to prove their superior skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, culminating the most popular technology skills competition on Microsoft Office and the only one endorsed by Microsoft since its inception in 2002.
To enter the competition, students age 13 to 22 took a qualifying Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification exam to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office products. Regional competitions were held worldwide and 152 student finalists from 51 countries competed in the final round of competition in Orlando, Florida, USA from July 29 – August 1, 2018.
The 2018 Microsoft Office Specialist World Champions in Microsoft Word 2016 are:
- First place, Apakorn Kengkanna, Thailand
- Second place, Ka Wang Sin, Macau
- Third place, Adam Drummond, Isle of Man
- Fourth place, Jan Cerny, Czech Republic
- Fifth place, Yong Kit Keith Chan, Singapore
- Sixth place, Sooyi An, South Korea
- Seventh place, Aidan Smith, Australia
- Eighth place, Aydan Soto, USA
- Ninth place, Somsith Phonphukdy, Laos
- Tenth place, Ana Ocampos, Paraguay
In the concluding round, competitors participated in unique project-based tests to demonstrate their ability to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for the information presented in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Certiport and Microsoft recognized the top student competitors at the MOSWC Student Awards Ceremony at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista in Orlando, Florida and presented each first-place winner with a $7,000 cash prize.
“The Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship is truly a moving experience – not only because these students are thrilled to compete, but because their lives have been changed by certification,” said Ray Murray, Vice President, Business Development, Pearson VUE. “Every person who earns MOS certification has demonstrated the ability to command the full features and functionality of Microsoft Office, preparing them for future academic or workforce opportunities. The MOS World Championship allows us to celebrate that accomplishment and motivate students on a global scale.”
With 2.3 million certifications delivered annually, MOS is the world’s largest IT certification programme. MOS is the only official Microsoft-recognized certification for Microsoft Office globally and serves as a powerful instrument for assessing student skills and preparing students for real-world application.
“We are very impressed with the winners of the MOS World Championship and grateful to meet so many young people who have realized the power of Microsoft Office skills for productivity and employability,” said Anthony Salcito, Vice President, Worldwide Education for Microsoft. “MOS certification gives students tangible proof they know how to use Microsoft Office tools in academics and on the job from day one.”
Next year, Certiport will host the 2019 MOS World Championship at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York City, NY from July 28-31, 2019.