Education | Two students win awards in the United States
Anson Chao (left) and Tiffany Ieong
Two local students won silver medals at the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) World Championship, held in the United States from July 30 to August 2.
Representing Macau in the global competition, Tiffany Ieong and Anson Chao each won a medal and USD3,500 scholarship fund.
The Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship is a competition that tests students’ skills in Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (2013 or 2016). Top students are invited to represent their respective countries at the World Championship.
In some countries or regions, students are required to first participate in a National Championship, and the winners of that event continue on to the World Championship.
Ieong, a 17 year-old student, won second place in the “9th Office Skills Competition for Macau Students,” while Chao secured first place.
Speaking to the Times, Ieong said that they underwent a total of 22 hours of training in the region, which was conducted by the Macau Productivity and Technology Transfer Center (CPTTM), before entering World Championship.
Supported by the local government, the youths expressed their gratitude for the support given to compete and represent Macau abroad.
“The competition gave me some questions and I have to work out those questions on Microsoft Word 2016. For example, you have to change the margin and change the settings and some set ups about it,” she explained.
Ieong participated in the MOS Word 2016 category, and admitted that the competition was “tough and tricky,” but added that it was a good experience.
“I learned how to communicate with others and it is really a great experience for me because I learnt many things […] I don’t really have much chance to practice the things that I’ve learnt there here in Macau,” Ieong added.
The Year 12 student at Sta. Rosa de Lima hoped that more local students would be given the chance to represent Macau at such international competitions.
“Maybe there should be more competitions held in Macau so that everyone can have a chance to show others their work and value, and I think that is really important because there are not many opportunities and chances for them to express themselves,” she said.
According to her, the trainings she received in Macau greatly affected her performance in the competition.
Representing Macau in California, Ieong noted, “I think more people will know about Macau because, maybe others cannot imagine that there are many great people in this small city,” she added.
Meanwhile Chao, who participated in MOS Word 2013 category, is also grateful that the government supported him for the third time.
Chao participated in the MOS Excel 2010 category and MOS Powerpoint 2010 in 2015 and 2016 respectively, both of which he emerged as a champion.
According to him, he valued the financial support of the government as it lessened the burden of participating in the competition.
“Because of the support, I have the responsibility to represent Macau and do well in the competition,” he said.
Chao also remarked that the competition has secured his plans to study a computer-related course when he gets to college.
