Four IT students successfully secured top spots as qualifiers in the upcoming finals of the Pilot Microsoft Office Specialist Competition 2015 which will be held on October 27, 2015 at the Grand Mall, Muscat City. The event, which is sponsored by KUDOS LLC, aims to find the top three students proficient in Word, PowerPoint and Excel to represent Oman in the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship 2016 in Orlando, Florida. The global competition presented by Certiport Inc, tests students’ skills in MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Top students across the globe are invited to represent their respective countries at the World Championship.

After the rigorous, stringent elimination process in the League Table semi-final round last October 13, 2015, Sara Abdullah Mohammed Al-Mamari, a Diploma in Information Technology student, qualified in the championship round and will compete in the Microsoft PowerPoint category along with students from Sur Applied Science College, Al-Buraimi University College, Higher College of Technology, and German University of Technology. While Thuraya Rashid Saeed Aseedi, another Diploma in IT student, managed to enter the final round and will contend in the Microsoft Word category along with students from Nizwa University, Sohar University, Higher College of Technology, and German University of Technology. On the other hand, Alaa Sulaiman Al-Qasmi, and Manahil Ibrahim Al-Nadaria, both Bachelors in Software Engineering graduates, bagged the top final spots and will vie for the Microsoft Excel category along with students from German University and Higher College of Technology.

This Pilot Microsoft Office Specialist Competition was launched at the beginning of 2015, and Shinas College of Technology is one of seven colleges and universities enrolled. An assessment test was given to over 500 participating students across the Sultanate. Thirty-three students represented ShCT. A total of 21 students have reached the finals, 9 students in PowerPoint, 6 students in Excel, and 6 students in Word.

Ms. R. Madhubala, IT Lecturer, served as the mentor and coach.