Microsoft Ireland’s DreamSpace was host to the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Irish Finals on Monday 13th May 2019. 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, coding in Minecraft and digital skills.

The Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Four Nations Championship launched in September 2018 by Microsoft and Prodigy Learning is an opportunity for students across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to prove their mastery of Microsoft Office.

Mateusz Weclawowicz (Summerhill College), Sarah Byrne (St Mary’s College, Naas) and Nathan O’Connor (Limerick Institute of Technology) are the 2019 Irish National Champions who have secured their place and will have the opportunity to represent Ireland at the MOS Four Nations next month in London. The ultimate prize for 3 students will be the trip of a lifetime to the MOS World Championship in New York 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 Four Nations 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 Four Nations Irish winners pictured are:

• Word: Mateusz Weclawowicz, Summerhill College (Left)

• PowerPoint: Sarah Byrne, St Mary’s College, Naas (Centre)

• Excel: Nathan O’Connor, Limerick Institute of Technology (Right)

In addition to awards and prizes, including an X-box One S for each finalist and the prestige of being the Irish Champions, the students have been invited to represent Ireland in the UK at the MOS Four Nations Final in The British Library, London on 14 June at CertMatters.Live 2019.

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 Minecraft Workshop lead by Global Minecraft Mentor, Peter O’Doherty, and a Makecode with Microbit Workshop lead by Amanda Jolliffe (DreamSpace Lead, Microsoft Ireland).

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 Kevin Marshall (Head of Education, Microsoft Ireland) who commented “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 Four Nations 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 Four Nations 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 Four Nations 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 2019 MOS Four Nations Championship Ireland Final please click here.

More Information

The MOS Four Nations Championship offers an opportunity for students across the UK and Ireland to prove their digital skills and be in the running to win fantastic prizes.  The Championship is open to all students aged 13-22 (as of June 15, 2019).  Academic institutions interested in participating should visit MOS Championship page for details.