LGIT Smart Solutions, the Johannesburg-based IT training company that won the coveted Microsoft Learning Partner Award last year, is involved in another round of the Microsoft Excel Championship on behalf of Microsoft South Africa. This is the second time the event is being held locally, and forms part of the global Microsoft Office Specialist Championship.
Mark Dorfling, the OEM Sales Manager at Microsoft (South Africa), has the following to say: "We are excited that we are rolling out the Excel Championships again. We are also pleased that we have managed to target more countries, with a view to getting a global champion from this round's crop of entries. Further to this, we are happy to work with LGIT Smart Solutions again to evaluate the entries."
In response, Natascha Pr"ussen, MD of LGIT, enthuses: "Again, what a delight that we have been tasked with the exciting job of helping Microsoft to choose the winner. Training and upskilling people is our purpose, so this is right up our alley. It ties in with our mission to uplift business, people and community, and we love being at the forefront of Microsoft initiatives to create a bit of healthy competition!"
The competition opened on 3 October and closes on 2 November. Microsoft, in conjunction with LGIT, will run a special 4-round Excel competition for residents of these countries. Only the top competitors in each round will go through to the next level, and finalists will compete against one another for the title of Excel Champ South Africa. Then, in early 2017, winners from across the globe will compete with one another for the title of Excel World Champ. The global victor wins the grand prize of a trip to Seattle, and this will include a meeting with the Excel Product Leads to provide feedback on new features that will be added to Excel.
One of LGIT's highly experienced Excel trainers, Jackie Blommestijn, in conjunction with Microsoft, will be encouraging entry into the competition with fun and informative videos placed on social media.
In terms of the competition format, each test spreadsheet will include three challenges, all athletically themed for some tongue-in-cheek fun: data relays (accessing, structuring, managing and manipulating data), chart gymnastics (visually representing data to best tell a story, as judged by a panel of experts and the Excel community), and formula wrestling (using formulas to dynamically solve questions, even if the data changes).
If you value your Excel skills and can see yourself aiming for the stars, take that step and enter the challenge. For more information, please visit http://www.lgit.co.za/excelchamp.aspx or e-mail info@lgit.co.za with "Excel Champs" as your subject heading. If you're not quite there yet, drop LGIT Smart Solutions a line for Microsoft-specific solutions and training needs, including Microsoft certification and business training. Good luck with the competition!
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