Microsoft Ireland’s DreamSpace was host to the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Irish Finals on Wednesday 10th May. The national qualifying final hosted 60 top performing students accompanied by educators from schools all over Ireland for an interactive day of MOS certification exams, workshops and digital skills.
The 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist Championship launched in September 2022 by Microsoft and Prodigy Learning is an opportunity for students across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to prove their mastery of Microsoft Office.
Lea Pederson (Sacred Heart School Drogheda), Ethan Smyth (Kinsale Community School) and Diarmait Fennelly (Summerhill College Sligo) are the 2023 Irish National Champions who have secured their place and will have the opportunity to represent Ireland at the MOS UK & Ireland Championship Final next month. The ultimate prize for 3 students at the MOS UK & Ireland Final in June will be the trip of a lifetime to the MOS World Championship in Orlando, Florida to represent the UK and Ireland.
Since the competition’s launch, thousands of students across Ireland aged 13-22 have taken MOS exams to qualify and compete to claim a place as an Irish MOS finalist. The ‘BEST of the BEST’ from these students culminated in the top twenty for each of the categories: Word, PowerPoint and Excel, being invited to the overall Irish MOS Championship Final.
At the Final the top performing 60 students sat a further exam in their qualifying category and the winners were crowned by achieving the highest, most accurate score in the quickest time. The MOS Irish winners pictured are:
• Word: Diarmait Fennelly, Summerhill College Sligo
• PowerPoint: Lea Pederson, Sacred Heart School Drogheda
• Excel: Ethan Smyth, Kinsale Community School
In addition to awards and prizes, including an X-box for each finalist and the prestige of being the Irish Champions, the students have been invited to represent Ireland at the virtual MOS UK & Ireland Championship Final on the 15th June.
The MOS Irish Finals event was an action – packed day of digital skills learning for students and educators. Along with sitting an exam in their respective Microsoft programmes, Word, PowerPoint and Excel students participated in a Micro:bit Workshop and a Digital Creativity Workshop lead by the Microsoft Ireland DreamSpace Team.
The importance of digital skills in today’s job market is indisputable. Independent research consistently ranks skills in Microsoft Office among the top three attributes that employers look for in prospective candidates. This was highlighted by Dr. Kevin Marshall (Head of Education, Microsoft Ireland) who commented “The Microsoft Education team in Ireland are delighted to partner with schools and colleges across Ireland to bring innovative ways of teaching and learning to classrooms across the country with offerings such as Microsoft Office Specialist certification.”
“The MOS UK & Ireland Championship showcases each year the key digital, problem-solving and collaboration skills which equips students for jobs of the future and increases their employability prospects.”
“On behalf of the Microsoft Ireland Education team, I’d like to wish the MOS Irish Champions the best of luck representing Ireland at the MOS UK & Ireland Final in June, congratulations also to all of today’s finalists.”
It was an exciting day with Ireland’s Top Digital Skills on display, as Billy Breen (Senior Territory Manager, Prodigy Learning) commented: “Out of over 20,000 Irish students who entered, we’re delighted to have found the top three MOS Champions to represent Ireland in the MOS UK & Ireland Final. The high standard and impressive scores are a credit to the students, teachers and schools involved as well as the overall standard of digital, collaboration and problem-solving skills embedded within Irish schools.”
Ireland Final Photo Album
For a full selection of images from the 2023 MOS Championship Ireland Final please click here.
