Microsoft Office Specialist Roll of Honour
MOS Regional and World Championships
Achieving a MOS certification is a mark of distinction that we have had the pleasure to facilitate for many staff and students through our MOS programme. However, this page is to give due recognition to those that, thorough our programme, had outstanding success, not just against the benchmark set by the qualification, but in competition both nationally and globally. Competitors in the MOS World Championships, held annually and open to those aged under 23, have achieved a place through becoming regional finalists. They are selected on their performance in qualifying Core level exams, delivered world-wide during the specified year.
MOS World Championship 2023
Orlando, Florida, USA: 30 July-2 Aug 2023
Our star candidate, recent graduate Lucy Reid, competed in the MOS World Championships, held live in Orlando, Florida, having won her place in the UK Regional finals for Microsoft Word (see Regional below). Lucy represented the UK in the World Championships along with 133 candidates from all over the world (selected as the top performers from over 1.3 million qualifying exams worldwide!) . Championship contestants had to complete a complex exam with sections that tested their knowledge as well as their technical and creative skills. In addition, they were set a real-world task to create instructional documentation for an existing non-profit organisation. Though missing out on a podium position, we are delighted that Lucy placed 6th in the top 10 ranking; an excellent outcome! But it’s not all about work and the contestants were treated to a whirlwind of social activities including a day at Disney World. By all accounts, it was, in her own words, “great fun and a fantastic experience”. MOS Championships are hosted Microsoft Partner, Certiport and in the UK by Prodigy Learning.
Lucy on stage at the Championship for the candidate introductions.
Regional Champion UK & Ireland 2023
Virtual Final: 15 June 2023
Double whammy! Lucy Reid found time this week not only to collect her well-earned Masters degree in Maths (Honours) but also to take part in the MOS Regional Final, having been selected as one of the top scorers from the thousands of the Word Associate exams sat across the country this year. Her stellar performance in the Word Expert Final (97% in just over half the allotted time!) won her 1st place and with it a shot at the World Championships with an all-expenses paid trip to the event in Orlando, Florida, later this summer. She'll be competing for the top prize in Microsoft Word against other students from all over the world. But Lucy's talents with Office are not limited to Word as she holds a MOS Expert aggregate qualifiaction as well, so while the competition will be stiff, she has every chance of success. Watch this space!
National Champion: UK & Ireland 2018
Four Nations Championship: 22 June 2018; London UK
What a star! Student Michaela Habartova (shown below receiving her award from Prodigy Learning CEO, Andrew Flood) is on her way to the MOS World Championships in Florida at the end of July. Michaela had just completed her 2nd year Geography exams but had one more task to complete before relaxing for the summer.
The competition to decide who would represent the UK in the MOS World Championships 2018 took place at the Design Museum in Kensington, London. Students representing England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland assembled to compete in the day's event sponsored by Prodigy Learning (the main provider of MOS exams in the UK) to determine the single candidate to go forward to the World Championships in each of the applications Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It was no small feat even to get to London. These competitors were the 'cream of the crop' having been selected on the basis of achieving top scores from the 40,000+ qualifying MOS exams that had been sat across the United Kingdom and Ireland over the course of the year. Michaela won her place to compete for the top spot for PowerPoint.
The PowerPoint Final tested efficiency and facility in her presentation skills but also problem solving skills with requirements to translate one medium into another. In addition to the actual Championship Final, Michaela also had a team event. Within these teams, and using a world built in Minecraft:EE as the catalyst, students demonstrated their collaborative and communication skills and their individual MOS digital skills to work together to create a business plan to launch a new music act. This was then presented to a panel of judges. Though not winning the team event, Michaela was the first World Finalist result to be announced at the end of the day, the real crowning glory on an amazing day.
UPDATE: Michaela did take her place and compete in the World Championships in Florida in July, but alas did not come away with an award. However, she had a fantastic time trying, "The whole experience was incredible, so absolutely no regrets!"
World Champion: World Finals 2017
World Championship: 31 Jul-2 Aug 2017; Anaheim, California USA
Passing a Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) exam is a feather in anyone's cap, as it is a recognised IT qualification that both enhances employability and helps develop computer skills in Office. But to triumph not only in a MOS UK National Competition, but then go on to win in the World Championship is tremendous by anyone's standard. (See Sam winning his award)
Sam Millar did just that by winning 2nd place for Excel in the World Championship. Sam graduated this year from the School of Biology but in addition to his final year degree work, he managed to fit in sitting and passing some qualifying MOS exams (Excel, Word or PowerPoint Core exams are eligible for entry into the MOS championship). He did sufficiently well to be invited to participate as an Excel candidate in the MOS Four-Nations UK Championship held in Reading in June. His success there earned him his all-expenses paid trip to compete in the MOS World Championship in Anaheim, California representing the UK (and the University of St Andrews).
Sam is shown here with his prize along with Andrew Flood, CEO of Prodigy Learning UK who manage Microsoft Certifications in the UK.
The MOS World Championship contestants were chosen from the 580,000 qualifying exams sat across 122 countries. The final contestants were whittled down to just 150 top students from 50 countries who would compete over three days at the start of August. Sam, who lives in Belfast, walked away with the runner-up place in Excel and a cheque for $3500. “Coming second felt too good to be true, and my family are delighted,” he said. “I had to turn three pages of unformatted data into a workbook in 50 minutes, following a precise set of instructions. Luckily it was familiar to me, and I've been using Excel to manage my butterfly and moth records since 2009.”
Since graduating, he is now a volunteer Casual Recorder at Butterfly Conservation in Northern Ireland. He also works at the Centre for Environmental Data and Recording, and the Belfast Hills Landscape Partnership, and is learning to code. We wish him every success for the future.
Four Nations Championship: 22 June 2017; Reading UK
Watch our finalists in action at the Championship held at the Microsoft HQ in Reading:
The UK finalists for the World Championship were selected from the results of the MOS Four Nations Championship held in June and the University was doubly represented here as another St Andrews student, 2nd year Lesley Mueller, who along with Sam, had been awarded a place to compete in the UK final. Lesley and Sam comprised 2 of the 3-strong Scotland team. Lesley won her place in the UK competition for her performance in PowerPoint and said of her participation in the Four Nations, "It was a really great experience."
Lesley and Sam are seen here with Sam's National trophy.
CEED is licensed to deliver MOS exams through Prodigy Learning (who manage UK MOS exams) and has been running the program since 2012. The MOS program is open to everyone in the University. For more information on the range of certifications available and how to join the program see our comprehensive MOS website.