Connect with us

Technology

Certiport Names 2024 Microsoft Office Specialist US National Champions

Published

on

Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, today announced the winners of the 2024 Microsoft Office Specialist US National Championship who will go on to represent the US at the 2024 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship in Anaheim, California, July 28 – 31, where they will compete against more than one hundred other finalists from countries across the globe. .

ORLANDO, Fla., June 19, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Certiport, a Pearson VUE business and the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners, today announced the winners of the 2024 Microsoft Office Specialist US National Championship.

Craig Bushman, General Manager, Certiport said, “All the winners have not only proven they are the best in their state at using Microsoft Office products effectively, but they have also earned an important distinction to include on their resume; a desire to learn and validate in-demand skills.”

The champions topped 195 finalists at the live competitive event in Orlando, Florida, and the first-place winners will head to the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship in Anaheim, California, in July.

Across the US, more than 98,594 students ages 13 to 22 entered one of six competition tracks by submitting a qualified, passing score on one the following certification exams: Microsoft Office Specialist Word, Microsoft Office Specialist Excel®, and Microsoft Office Specialist PowerPoint®.

During the competitive event, finalists were given a printed copy of a document, spreadsheet, or presentation to recreate along with printed instructions and digital assets. They were then scored according to the accuracy of the recreation compared to the original. First-place winners received an $3000 cash prize, second-place $2000, and third-place $1000. The champions in each program, along with a chaperone, have also won a trip to participate in the 2024 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship in Anaheim, California, July 28 – 31, where they will compete against more than one hundred other finalists from countries across the globe.

The Microsoft Office Specialist US National Champions are as follows:

Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365 Apps)
1.    Deval Bansal, Texas
2.    Robert Roos, Texas
3.    Joseph Schinker, Nebraska

Microsoft Excel (Microsoft 365 Apps)
1.    Bence Brown, Nebraska
2.    Braidyn Ortiz, California
3.    Michelle Kwakugah, Louisiana

Microsoft PowerPoint (Microsoft 365 Apps)
1.    Preston Nnadi, Texas
2.    Mia Moreno, Idaho
3.    Thadeus Gornto, Florida

Microsoft Word (Office 2019)
1.    Jaelynn McAuliffe, Massachusetts
2.    Ramya Rajan, Ohio
3.    Megan McRobie, West Virginia

Microsoft Excel (Office 2019)
1.    Andrew Manteau, West Virginia
2.    Christian Tarala, New York
3.    Caleb Ott, Indiana

Microsoft PowerPoint (Office 2019)
1.    Sophia Winkler, Michigan
2.    Kyle Chan, Pennsylvania
3.    Jonas Lee, Washington

“We are exceptionally proud of these students who will be joining us at the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship later this year,” said Craig Bushman, General Manager, Certiport. “The quality of participating students continues to impress us, and this year’s contestants certainly proved to be some of the best yet. We congratulate all the winners as well as everyone who participated – not only have they proven they are the best in their state at using Microsoft Office products effectively, but they have also earned an important distinction to include on their resume; a desire to learn and validate in-demand skills. The title of “Microsoft Office Specialist” will serve them well in their academic and career pursuits.”

“Now in their 22nd year, the Microsoft Office Specialist National and World Championships continue to provide students the incredible opportunity to test their technical skills and knowledge,” said Kate Maxwell, General Manager Worldwide Education Industry at Microsoft. “Earning a globally recognized Microsoft credential will help students gain access to learning and job opportunities. Every student who walks away from this competition is a winner, and we are confident that these students will leverage their Microsoft Office productivity skills to great benefit in their future careers.”
Learn more about the Microsoft Office Specialist US National Championship here.

About Certiport
Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, is the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and program management services delivered through an expansive network of over 13,000 Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide. Certiport manages a sophisticated portfolio of leading certification programs including: the official Microsoft Office Specialist certification program, the Microsoft Certified Fundamentals certification program, the Microsoft Certified Educator program, the Adobe® Certified Professional certification program, the Autodesk Certified User certification program, the Intuit certification program, the App Development with Swift certification program, the Unity Certified User certification program, the Communication Skills for Business certification program, the IC3 Digital Literacy certification, and the Entrepreneurship and Small Business certification program. Certiport reliably delivers over three million tests each year throughout the secondary, post-secondary, workforce, and corporate technology markets in 148 countries and 29 languages worldwide. For more information visit http://www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on X at  http://www.twitter.com/certiport.

“Certiport” is a registered trademark of NCS Pearson, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contact

Greg Forbes, Certiport, +44 782 431 3448, greg.forbes@pearson.com, http://www.certiport.com/

Twitter Facebook

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prweb.com/releases/certiport-names-2024-microsoft-office-specialist-us-national-champions-302177165.html

SOURCE Certiport

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Technology

DeepL unveils industry-first Glossary Generator to solve business communication and brand consistency challenges

Published

on

By

Enhanced DeepL glossary functionality – including new glossary generator, expanded language support and more – will boost global business translations, saving time, effort, and costs

COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — DeepL, a leading global Language AI company, today announced several updates to its glossary feature, which is a powerful tool that enhances translation consistency and accuracy by enabling professionals and companies to personalize translations for specific terms. The tool now offers the industry’s first smart glossary generator, which helps simplify and speed up the process of creating glossaries for translations. Glossary is also available in several new languages and within DeepL’s browser extensions and integrations, fitting seamlessly into existing workflows to offer an even more accessible and smooth user experience across the web and applications like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.

“AI-powered translations are essential for businesses looking to overcome language barriers in today’s increasingly connected world, and DeepL’s powerful glossary tool takes this a step further by ensuring translations are personalized to a company’s unique phrases and needs,” said Christopher Osborne, VP of Product, DeepL. “We’re always looking for ways to improve the DeepL experience and drive even more value and ROI for 100,000+ customers worldwide, and these new capabilities make our glossary even more efficient, accessible and user-friendly – empowering teams to achieve the customization and consistency they are looking for, while minimising time spent on costly alternatives like manual translations or find-and-replace tools.”

For global businesses aiming to drive revenue growth, investing in brand consistency across all communications and languages is essential to ensure that every message—whether technical terminology, product names, or branded terms—resonates clearly with teams, customers, and markets worldwide. Consistent branding has been proven to increase revenue by 20% or more[1] and enhance visibility by 3 to 4 times[2] – however, maintaining this consistency can be expensive and complex. DeepL’s glossary tool simplifies this process, helping businesses and professionals easily create and scale high-quality, consistent multilingual communications across teams. With glossary, companies can create and manage custom translation glossaries to ensure that specific words or phrases are translated consistently according to their unique terminology.

DeepL’s glossary now offers the following expanded capabilities:

The industry’s first smart, AI-powered glossary generator: DeepL’s new glossary generator is a first-of-its-kind tool enabling teams to create custom translation glossaries with a simple file upload. Previously translated files can be leveraged to generate entries for personalized DeepL glossaries, reducing the need for manual work and significantly enhancing efficiency, enabling teams to facilitate more consistent communication at scale.Expanded glossary language functionality: Glossary now supports Korean, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Romanian translations, bringing the total number of languages to 16. This allows for more precise and nuanced translations across a wider range of linguistic contexts, helping businesses reach a broader audience.More convenient access across DeepL platforms: Users are now able to access and apply the glossary directly within the DeepL browser extensions for Chrome and Edge, enabling consistent translations across the web, including Google Workspace applications. Furthermore, the glossary can now also be applied directly within DeepL for Microsoft 365 integrations, including Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Additionally, the glossary can be accessed through DeepL’s web browser, desktop apps, and API.

Unlike other find-and-replace tools, DeepL’s glossary excels with its advanced contextual understanding and ability to process complex grammatical elements—such as case, gender, and tense—to deliver nuanced, natural-sounding translations. This results in substantial productivity gains, largely due to the time saved in post-editing. Blind tests with language experts show that DeepL reduces post-editing time by 30% compared to Google Translate and 20% compared to Chat GPT-4. Furthermore, DeepL requires significantly fewer edits, with Google Translate and Chat GPT-4 needing two to three times as many feedback rounds.

Glossary with DeepL Pro also offers enhanced data security, including proprietary data centers, the highest level of certification and compliance standards (ISO 27001 certification, GDPR/SOC 2 type 2 compliance), data encryption, and a commitment to never using Pro customer data to train models.

DeepL’s glossary generator is now available to Pro Advanced and Ultimate subscribers with support for TMX/DOCX/PDF files. It is initially available for glossaries in German, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, French, and Russian (to and from English), with more languages coming soon.

Learn more about DeepL Pro and try out glossary yourself here.

About DeepL

DeepL is on a mission to break down language barriers for businesses everywhere. Over 100,000 businesses and governments and millions of individuals in 228 global markets trust DeepL’s Language AI platform for human-like translation and better writing. Designed with enterprise security in mind, companies around the world leverage DeepL’s AI solutions that are specifically tuned for language to transform business communications, expand markets, and improve productivity. Founded in 2017 by CEO Jaroslaw (Jarek) Kutylowski, DeepL today has over 900 passionate employees and is supported by world-renowned investors including Benchmark, IVP, and Index Ventures.

[1] Marq, “2021 Brand Consistency Report”
[2] Demand Metric x Lucid Press, “Impact of Brand Consistency” Report, 2016

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/deepl-unveils-industry-first-glossary-generator-to-solve-business-communication-and-brand-consistency-challenges-302254939.html

SOURCE DeepL

Continue Reading

Technology

Agoda: Chinese Travelers Post a 137% Increase in International Searches for Upcoming Golden Week

Published

on

By

SINGAPORE, Sept. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Digital travel platform Agoda has revealed a 137% year-over-year increase in international accommodation searches from China for the upcoming Golden Week. China’s second Golden Week of the year takes place from 1 to 7 October.

Agoda’s accommodation search data reveals a shift in Chinese travelers’ preferences for Golden Week. Last year, the top five outbound destinations were Tokyo, Seoul, Osaka, Kyoto, and Bangkok, respectively. This year, Seoul has emerged as the number one destination, leapfrogging Tokyo. Bali is a new entry in the top five and takes third place. Bangkok and Osaka continue to be among the most searched destinations and complete the ranking in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Taking place from 1 – 7 October this year, Golden Week is a prime travel period for Chinese families looking to take advantage of the week-long break. Golden Weeks are celebrated twice a year in China, around Lunar New Year and China’s National Day.

Top Outbound Destinations for Golden
Week 2024

(Based on Agoda’s accommodation search data)

      1. Seoul, South Korea

      2. Tokyo, Japan

      3. Bali, Indonesia

      4. Bangkok, Thailand

      5. Osaka, Japan

Andrew Smith, Senior Vice President, Supply at Agoda said, “The increase in outbound travel searches for China’s Golden Week suggests a growing confidence among Chinese citizens to explore international travel. It’s great to see destinations close to China’s east coast like Seoul and Osaka featured in the rank, as well as holiday favorites Bangkok and Bali further south.  With the unique advantage of its ‘Asia hotels’ network, Agoda is committed to helping Chinese customers to experience the rest of Asia for less with its great value deals.”

Agoda continues to support travelers by offering over 4.5 million holiday properties globally, more than 130,000 flight routes, and over 300,000 activities, all of which can be conveniently combined in the same booking. For more information on travel options during China’s Golden Week, visit agoda.com or download the Agoda app.

About Agoda

Agoda, a digital travel platform, helps anyone see the world for less with its great value deals on a global network of 4.5M hotels and holiday properties worldwide, plus flights, activities, and more. Agoda.com and the Agoda mobile app are available in 39 languages and supported by 24/7 customer support.

Headquartered in Singapore, Agoda is part of Booking Holdings (Nasdaq: BKNG) and employs more than 6,900 staff in 25 markets, dedicated to leveraging best-in-class technology to make travel even easier.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/agoda-chinese-travelers-post-a-137-increase-in-international-searches-for-upcoming-golden-week-302254966.html

SOURCE Agoda

Continue Reading

Technology

AECOM supports the Highways Department in winning the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors Awards for innovative road safety technology

Published

on

By

HONG KONG, Sept. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — AECOM, the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, today announced that a Road Defect Detection System (RDDS) technology it has developed in partnership with the Highways Department of HKSAR Government (HyD) has secured two prestigious awards from the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS). This RDDS project, under part of the award-winning topic “Sustainability Strategy in Road and Tree Inspection by Advanced Geo-spatial Technology,” integrates advanced geographic information system (GIS) and artificial intelligence technologies to automatically detect road defects. The new technology aims to streamline the road inspection process, improving maintenance efficiency, effectively allocating resources and helping ensure public safety.

“AECOM is dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that meet our clients’ specific needs and address their complex challenges. From deploying the world’s largest tunnel boring machine for the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link project to integrating GeoAI in our Road Defect Detection System, we harness emerging technologies to support the Highways Department in delivering landmark projects that span tunnels, bridges, highways, and now digital solutions,” said Ian Chung, chief executive of AECOM’s Asia region.

The jointly developed RDDS technology responds to the pressing need to effectively survey Hong Kong’s vast and complex road network. To provide a superior alternative to traditional inspection methods, the AECOM and HyD teams developed an approach that automatically detects defects from road images captured by a vehicle-based camera system.

Integrating the two organizations’ geospatial expertise, the technology uses AI to identify cracks and discolored road markings from road images, which can then be viewed on a web application platform that integrates data such as quantity, location, and severity for engineers to review and assess. The multi-step system simplifies the inspection process and allows for more efficient resource allocation — bringing greater efficiency to HyD’s road maintenance work and supporting a safer road network.

The HKIS honored the technology with the Innovative Surveying Award, which commends industry participants for outstanding project quality in innovative surveying technology, and the Post-occupation Category Grand Award, which recognizes the surveyors’ efforts in enhancing work efficiency and precision through innovative technology at post-occupation stage.

The HKIS Awards aim to recognize the outstanding achievements of Hong Kong surveyors. The awards align with the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations, affirming surveyors’ exceptional accomplishments in sustainable development projects and their contributions to improving environmental outcomes and promoting a sustainable future for Hong Kong.

For more details about the project, please visit here.

 

 

About AECOM 

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of US$14.4 billion in fiscal year 2023. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at www.aecom.com/hk/.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/aecom-supports-the-highways-department-in-winning-the-hong-kong-institute-of-surveyors-awards-for-innovative-road-safety-technology-302253074.html

SOURCE AECOM

Continue Reading

Trending