Canadian Student Wins Worldwide Competition for Microsoft Office Word 2007
Emily Daubert showcases top proficiency of Office application against largest field of competitors in final round of Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office
PARK CITY, UT (Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office) – August 12, 2010
Certiport (www.certiport.com), the leading certification solution provider for the global workforce and academic markets, and CCI Learning Solutions Inc. (www.ccilearning.com), announced today that Emily Daubert from SAIT Polytechnic won this year's World Champion in Microsoft Office Word 2007, culminating the most popular global technology skills competition on Microsoft Office to date.
The 2010 Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office attracted more than 115,000 unique candidates from 54 countries who competed to prove their Microsoft Office expertise. Certiport recognized Daubert at ceremonies in Park City, Utah, where 51 country winners competed in the championship round for a grand prize scholarship fund of $6,500.
"When they called out my name at the competition, I was ecstatic," said Emily Daubert, 2010 World Champion for Microsoft Office Word 2007. "I am the first person from Canada to win this competition, and was supported by those around me who kept telling me I could do this, it was not impossible."
"Emily and her classmates worked very hard over the last two years to master the skills necessary to be successful with the Microsoft Office Specialist certification," said Janine Violini, SAIT Polytechnic Instructor."We were thrilled to have Emily win the national championship, but her World Championship has made us realize the skill set of our graduates is second-to-none. Our graduates will use the Microsoft Office suite daily in their careers and their level of productivity will significantly benefit their employers."
All 51 student finalists received an all-expense paid trip to Utah for the Worldwide Competition. In the final round, Word competitors participated in timed unique tests to demonstrate their ability to create, customize and organize documents using formatting and visual content appropriate for the information presented in Microsoft Word.
"Clearly, these students have demonstrated the foresight and discipline to invest in acquiring the certified skills for Microsoft Office that enable them to enter the workforce prepared to succeed,” said Takeshi Numoto, Corporate Vice President, Office Product Management Group, Microsoft. "To stand out amongst the ever increasing expectations for higher productivity in the workplace and in today’s always-on culture, it is essential that students master the technologies that businesses depend on, and this event gives students a platform to showcase their preparedness to become valuable assets in any organization.”
"With more than 9 million beta downloads, the Office 2010 has seen the strongest launch momentum in Office’s history, I am looking forward to next year’s competition to see who has come up to speed and mastered the new Microsoft Office Specialist 2010 exams,” Numoto added.
Certiport's Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office has grown steadily since its inauguration and the number of exams entered worldwide doubled over last year. Honoring the important role that certification plays in the standards and assessment community, this student competition helps validate that students have the expertise needed to compete in the global workforce.
"ICT skills are increasingly important as we continue to close the skills gap in Canada," said Malcolm Knox, CCI Learning Solutions Inc. "As we leave the economic reset, Emily has shown the world that she is an example of Canada's commitment to improving desktop application skills certified by the Microsoft Office Specialist certification program."
“It has been exciting to continue to watch Certiport and CCI Learning Solutions lead the industry in providing high technology training and certification programs to academic entities worldwide," said Ray Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, Certiport. "We are proud to be Microsoft’s only worldwide partner for the Microsoft Office Specialist exams and are delighted to see it become the largest IT certification program in the world this year. By offering the MOS certification, CCI Learning helps students build their resumes and acquire desirable workforce skills. I congratulate them both on their success."
