Rohan Vargas, a 16-year-old student from Kilkenny, Ireland, won the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Word World Champion title, taking home a check for $7,000.
CBS Kilkenny student Rohan won gold at the MOS UK & Ireland Championship Final in June. His reward was the opportunity to compete and represent his country at the Microsoft MOS World Championship Finals at Disneyland in California, a trip of a lifetime sponsored by Prodigy Learning.
The global competition, now in its 20th year, attracted more than 200,000 participants from more than 100 countries. To enter the competition, students between the ages of 13 and 22 took the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification exam to demonstrate their superior Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint skills.
Each finalist, along with other global competitors, participated in unique project-based tests to demonstrate their ability to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations with information presented in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
“When my teacher first shared the exciting news 6 months ago that I had made it to the finals of the MOS Ireland Championship at Dreamspace Microsoft Ireland in May, I couldn’t believe it!” said Rohan, “especially since I’ve never heard of the contest before.”
“I was even more surprised when I became the MOS UK & Ireland Champion by joining the virtual last day of June from a local internet cafe in the Philippines at 1am while I was celebrating a family event and our accommodation had no Wi-Fi. “.
“Traveling to the USA and participating in the World Championship finals was a dream come true and I still can’t get over the fact that my name was called Microsoft Word World Champion 2022!”
He added: “I was nervous leading up to the competition, but I’m really excited to be standing shoulder to shoulder with the best students in the world representing Ireland. I will never forget this experience, I made lifelong friends, we got to go to the Disney parks, and adding this experience along with my MOS certification will increase my employability when I apply for jobs after school.”
In addition to Rohan’s success, Prodigy Learning also received the UK’s highest ranking in the finals of the Adobe Certified Professional Championship. Kiwi Gamwell finished third after wowing the judges with her design for marine conservation nonprofit The Ocean Agency, taking home a $1,500 check and a bronze medal. Traveling to California with Rohan and Kiwi were Excel finalist Amy Hoey (Inver College, Ireland) and Australian MOS finalist Ethan Wong (University of New South Wales).
With 2.3 million certifications annually, MOS is the world’s largest IT certification program. MOS is the only official Microsoft Office certification recognized by Microsoft worldwide and serves as a powerful tool for assessing student skills and preparing students for real-world applications.
“The Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship is a great experience – students are excited about the competition and their lives have been changed by the certification“, he said Christina Thoresen, director of sales strategy for the global education industry at Microsoft Corporation. “The MOS certification provides students with tangible evidence that they have the skills and know how to use Microsoft Office tools to increase productivity and employability.”
Rohan qualified for the national championships after successfully completing online learning as part of his Transition Year IT course at CBS Kilkenny, supporting Prodigy Learning, achieving an excellent test result and obtaining a Microsoft Office Specialist Certificate demonstrating his expert skills in Microsoft Word 2016.
“Congratulations to Rohan – this is a fantastic achievement and he has been a great ambassador for our home country, Ireland“, he said Andrei Flood (CEO of Prodigy Learning). “The MOS UK & Irish Championship is the highlight of our year, showcasing the best digital skills in the UK and Ireland. We are delighted to see Rohan continue the region’s success story at the World Cup and are already looking forward to next year.”
Next year, Certiport will host the 2023 MOS World Championship at Bonnet Creek, JW Marriott in Orlando, Florida from July 30 to August 2, 2023.
Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in Skills and Apprenticeships
