Earlier this month, Adobe and Prodigy Learning announced Will Clarke from the University of Westminster as the ACA World Championship 2015 UK & Ireland Champion.  Having produced the winning poster in a design challenge for children’s charity Over the Wall, Will has won the trip of a lifetime to represent the region and compete at the final round of the World Championship in Dallas, Texas.

On June 10, finalists from universities around the UK & Ireland competed at the inaugural ACA World Championship UK & Ireland Final, hosted at Adobe’s EMEA HQ in Maidenhead, UK.  The event saw finalists compete in a real-world design challenge where they were given instructions, project requirements, and assets to complete a poster for Over the Wall using Adobe Creative Cloud software on Microsoft Surface devices.

The finalists were chosen from two qualifying rounds and had achieved the highest scores in the Adobe Certified Associate certification exams this year in the region.   Will’s winning artwork will now be used by Over the Wall in the coming months to promote their activities.  

2nd Place in the design challenge was awarded to Paul Housego (University of Westminster) who won a Microsoft Surface Pro 3.  Herbert Gillman (Kingston University) secured 3rd Place and won a Wacom Graphics Tablet.   Coventry University and Falmouth University also had the notable achievement of having multiple finalists, highlighting the quality of their Adobe Certified Associate programmes.

Kevin Mathieson (Chief Executive, Over the Wall) commenting on the announcement said: “We were all so hugely impressed with the talents demonstrated by the finalists as they creatively developed a poster design aimed at attracting the interest of children living with serious illness to enquire more about our camps next year.  Every submission was different and interesting but we had to select a winner and the design completed by Will Clarke from the University of Westminster was outstanding. We will be delighted to use Will’s design to lead on our camper recruitment campaign next year and wish Will the very best of luck in the Adobe World Finals taking place in Dallas later this year.”

Dani Durrant (Leadership and Talent Development Operations Specialist – EMEA, Adobe) said: “We are extremely pleased to have hosted the first ACA World Championship UK final at Adobe’s Head office in Maidenhead. We are delighted to be connecting young people with tools and technology to not only improve their individual skills, but to be able to tell a story using local charity Over the Wall as the subject matter. The great thing about this program is that it is about much more than the technology – it’s about igniting creative confidence in youth and developing life and professional skills through the creative process!”

Andrew Flood (CEO, Prodigy Learning) added: “The ACA Championship UK Final presented a unique opportunity for us to give tangible benefit to a very deserving charity while also giving real-world experience using Adobe Creative Cloud to a very talented group of design students.   It was a very exciting and successful event.  We would like to thank our customers for taking part throughout the year and congratulate the finalists on a great achievement.  We will be cheering for Will in Dallas in August!”     

UK Final Photo Album & Winning Artwork

Image: Pictured is the 2015 UK & Ireland Champion, Will Clarke, with Andrew Flood (CEO, Prodigy Learning), Dani Durant (Leadership and Talent Development Operations Specialist – EMEA, Adobe), Kevin Mathieson (CEO, Over the Wall) and Ben Smith (Senior Account Manager, Certiport).

For a full selection of images from the 2015 UK & Ireland Final and the winning artwork please click here.

About the Adobe Certified Associate World Championship

The Adobe Certified Associate World Championship is a global competition that identifies and honours the next generation of design professionals using Adobe software. The 2015 UK & Ireland Champion wins the trip of a lifetime (sponsored by Prodigy Learning) to compete at the World Championship in Dallas, Texas.

More Information

To learn more about the 2015 Adobe Certified Associate World Championship please click here.  To learn more about Adobe Certified Associate certification please click here or contact us.