Spreadsheet Champions (2025) Movie Script
1
[keyboard clicks]
[computer whirring up]
[keyboard clacking]
[woman] I think everyone
is good, but I am better.
[laughs]
It's definitely
a tonne of pressure
resting on my shoulders
for Australia.
I'll do something,
I'll check if it works,
and if it works,
we're good to go.
So, you have this group
of people who might be nerds.
You know, they're geeks.
They're representing
their country
in a competition that is brutal.
[man] They know the stakes
are high,
and it's going to change
that person's life forever.
They'll forever
be the world champion.
That one question can make
all the difference.
Just don't royally mess up.
[man] You know, not everybody
walks away with a medal.
Because if they didn't cry,
that means that the exam
wasn't good enough.
Oh, this is going to be good.
[cheers]
[man] Word, Excel,
and PowerPoint.
Most everybody in the world
uses Word
and Word can do some
pretty sophisticated things.
PowerPoint also.
Excel is a different level.
[woman] So, this is going to be,
I believe,
the back of the stage,
and you can see there's so many
different moving parts
happening right now
for this setup.
It's going to be
pretty incredible, pretty big.
You cannot walk off the street
and win this championship.
In fact, I would bet you
wouldn't even finish the exam.
[man] So, most people
in day-to-day use of Excel
where you understand
basic formulas and functions,
they probably use 10 to 15%.
These students are being
pressured to understand and use
60, 70% of that or more.
The competition content
that Bing has created,
he stretches what you will know
about Excel
and he will punish you.
Bing is not an evil genius.
Bing is precise and methodical.
He is focused on
creating a challenge
that will truly measure
an individual's greatness.
This year's tests are definitely
the most challenging ones
we've ever developed.
As students generally perform
better and better
in the competitions,
we have to raise the bar
and make the exam even harder
to find the best of the best.
[Steve] And these students
will absolutely be challenged,
there is no question.
I do believe that this will be
one of the hardest tests
that they've taken.
It would not surprise me
if we do see tears.
[woman] Most students
in reality,
they're not going to win,
even though they all are smart,
even though they all work hard.
I just really want them
to know that they're celebrated
and they're worth celebrating.
In five days, the competition
will kick off,
and it will culminate
in the excitement
that's been building up
for well over a year
for many of these competitors.
At this time, some competitors
are starting to make their way
to Orlando, Florida.
['Toccata and Fugue in D minor'
by Bach plays on keyboard]
I have always thought I am a
bizarre person and I know that,
and I know that everyone knows
that I'm ridiculous
and everyone knows that
I'm ridiculous.
I'm always interested
in complicated,
buttony things, you know?
[plays scale]
[man] Mason has been always very
comfortable in his own skin.
He, in elementary school,
wore bright purple socks
up to above his knees with
plaid pants and a tie-dye shirt.
He called it Fashion Friday.
-Like colour vomit.
-And he just doesn't care.
It's commentary.
It's satire.
It's really not, but, you know.
He definitely walks
to the beat of his own drummer.
I call that shameless
self-expression,
and it's something I've told him
that I hope he never loses.
This is my national
championship cheque.
I liked having a giant cheque.
It is in my room
and I love it dearly.
Eclectic craziness is in here.
OK, clearly,
it does not like this.
It's fine.
We'll make it work.
No, we won't. Alright.
Well, I have a little
printing calculator.
It does a bunch of cute stuff.
So, it's like a mirror,
and then this one sort of
acts more like a magnet.
I like playing around
with electronics.
I love programming
with computers.
I love using computers.
The organ is really borne out
of passion,
and the piano is just something
that I randomly was like,
"I should play piano."
Mason tends to be
a little forgetful
because his mind is full
of other things.
[morse code beeping]
And that's my name
in Morse code.
You mean when he forgot
to take the - wash the shampoo
out of his hair the other day?
Yes.
While he does things
like that, he owns it
and that's just part of
who he is.
I use Excel more than
most people would
in my day-to-day life.
I mean, you can understand that.
I'm a complete nerd.
I'm a very social nerd at that.
You can ask my friends.
Um, but...
Um, yeah.
Alkmini is not new
in the competition.
She has also competed
about another two times
in the national final.
[man] So, we have all the
soccer trophies
through many years of soccer.
The certificates for
the Microsoft competition,
and then we have the trophy
for the Microsoft competition,
the glass one, which was sent
over by Microsoft,
and my school presented it to me
at assembly.
Mr Wilkinson,
because he was presenting,
he really overplayed it.
So, he was like,
"Oh, magnificent achievement
"going all the way to Florida
to represent Australia."
So hyped up, and yeah.
Whenever I was in prep
or anything, or year one,
just had like a math solution,
I'd figure it out straight away.
I'd be that one person
in the class
who'd look forward
to the math test.
[man] He's always had
a natural ability
to work stuff out
really quickly,
and he's kind of self-taught
in a way,
because he's just so curious.
In school and stuff, especially,
I find stuff like assignments
really difficult,
and I find - 'cause I'm really
good at memorising things,
but then other stuff
like just writing assignments,
I just can't do that
to save my life.
I want to go more into Apple
game development when I grow up.
Although he did want
to be a famous soccer player.
Yeah, he did. Yeah, so...
Could be running
out of time for that, perhaps.
He's a good goalie though.
But you know.
Anyway, we'll see.
I think...
I think it's a bit boring.
I don't know how Braydon
finds it fun.
Yeah, I reckon he could win.
I think Braden's got
the potential to go all the way.
His speed of actually being able
to complete the assessment
is phenomenal.
He's one of
the quickest students
I've ever seen go through.
[Braydon] I didn't find
the Australian competition
very hard.
Like, I'd go through and there's
nothing that I didn't know,
and the questions
I got wrong were,
like, just...
There was maybe one question
I just hadn't learned yet
'cause it wasn't on any of
the practise exams or anything.
I didn't know there was an Excel
competition, to be honest.
Um, I'm pretty happy
I know now, so...
They didn't really understand
like how it would work
and how the Excel questions...
I don't think a lot - many
people at all understand,
like how you can have
a competition
on just Microsoft Excel.
[woman] This year, just under
a half a million
students tried to qualify
for the 2023 world championship.
I mean, it's not yet
to the degree of Comic-Con,
you know, where people
are dressed up,
but you get some
pretty passionate people
about software.
We've had several people
offered jobs in the airport
because they were world
champions on their way home.
So many of them, I don't know
where they would have been
had they not had
this opportunity.
I think it really - it does,
it changes their trajectory,
so it's pretty amazing.
For example, we have our
2022 silver medallist in Excel,
that he got
a very huge opportunity
in a university in the US.
He got a full scholarship.
I don't have to express
how much of an opportunity
that is for him.
Yeah.
This is my room tour.
So, here we have the desk
where I do my studies, homework,
everything
with just a little
reminder of my friends.
Here is where
I keep all my mess.
Bags, bags, bags and bags.
Uh, my One Direction book
and One Direction perfume.
I remember being born
and being a Directioner,
and I wanted to be a YouTuber.
Like, I really wanted to be one,
and I stole my parents' phone,
and I put up my flashlight
and I was like, "Hi, welcome
to my YouTube channel."
I didn't have one.
I just created it
by imagination.
Imagine. I could be like
a YouTuber and an Excel winner.
I like sleeping,
that's my number one hobby.
Like, I love sleeping,
I love napping,
but at the same time,
I like to study a lot.
Math is just like
my comfort zone.
Like, ever since I remember,
I was good at math.
Everyone's like, "Oh no,
we have math class right now."
And I'm like, "We have
math class right now!"
It's like... It's pretty nice.
I don' know.
[singing in French]
[singing in French]
[singing in French]
[man] The Excel winners,
they're incredibly smart.
They're probably the ones
that have the highest GPAs
that do really well
in the STEM technology.
Science, technology,
engineering and math.
These are elite Excel users.
These are almost elite
Excel athletes.
It is the language
and the currency of the future,
and without it, it's going
to be more difficult.
So, education and data literacy,
there could be no more
two important skills
to learn than these.
When students are going
through this competition,
they are developing
these essential
data literacy skills
that ability to understand data,
ability to get meaning out of
that data is an essential skill
that will help these
students in any future job.
This is the Microsoft
Worldwide Competition Lab,
and so this is the lab
where the students
will take their
competition exam.
So, we've just finished
setting it up.
We've got a couple of final
checks to make sure
that everything is working,
that power plugs are charging
the laptops like they're
supposed to, that mice work.
So, we'll just go through
and touch each machine,
make sure all is well.
We have less than I have
for people who have access
to the actual creative
instructions for this year.
It's in a sealed envelope
that the student then has to
break open,
and there's some of that
is for drama.
But most of it largely
is for security.
And everyone, we're going to be
starting shortly
once Bing gives me the OK.
-Three, two...
-OK.
I just love looking
into his eyes...
Three, two, one, go!
Ooh, and that worked.
-Yeah.
-Y'all can't see this.
But it worked.
"Manage your time wisely,
"keep track of the time
during the exam
"to ensure you complete
all three sections.
"When you're ready to start,
select the start exam button."
OK, no more videotape.
Don't read the actual question,
please.
I won't, I won't.
No. You're nervous
and I love it.
Yes, I am nervous.
You don't need to feel that.
[laughs]
I have no idea.
Like, I just know it's going
to be a 100-minute exam.
Like, they're very...
They're very like hush-hush
about it,
like, the details.
[smooth electronic music]
BING: The exam is broken down
into three sections.
Section one
is the knowledge section.
It's a series of questions
to see how much they know
about Excel,
without access to Excel.
This section tests competitors
on their memory
of Excel's essential features
as well as its history.
Many of the features in Excel
have been there from
previous legacy programs,
dating back decades.
[upbeat electronic music]
[man] When you hear the word
'spreadsheet',
most people think of
Microsoft Excel.
But a spreadsheet used to be
an actual piece of paper.
Until these two graduates
had an idea.
My name is Dan Bricklin
and people call me the father
of the electronic spreadsheet.
I was a student at Harvard
Business School,
and we would be discussing
and learning
about different
business problems.
We had blackboards, we'd write
numbers on them,
and then you'd say, "Well, what
if this was a different number?"
And then you'd have to do
all the calculations,
and I sort of imagined that
there was a magic blackboard,
that you could erase a number
and write a new number in,
and all the calculations
would recalculate,
and I started building
what we now know
as electronic spreadsheet.
I came up with the idea
of the columns and the rows
and A-B-C, one, two, three.
Now, we've set this up, OK?
Then we type a new value in.
OK, here, I'm going to
take that 100
and I'm going to change it,
right,
and here it recalculates.
Whoa!
That saved me so much time!
You can do things before,
which would take weeks to do
in 15 minutes.
[man] The time and money
business saved was astronomical.
So, the spreadsheet became
the language of business.
It was the first time in history
that people were
buying computers
to run software,
and VisiCalc was only available
on Apple.
This is what propelled
the success of Apple
beyond anyone's
wildest expectations,
and revolutionised
the personal computer.
The spreadsheet became
a significant part
in the rise of the computer era.
No matter what industry
you're in,
it relies on
a spreadsheet somewhere,
even if you're not
using it yourself.
It's here for the long haul
because spreadsheets
rule the world.
[woman] It is the core building
block for most businesses,
as well as the
core building block
for artificial intelligence.
So, when we build AI,
essentially we build it
on databases and spreadsheets.
[Dan Briklin]
It's a general purpose tool,
and we threw in everything
but the kitchen sink
because we wanted it to be good
for so many different things.
We didn't know which one would
be the one it was best for.
It turned out all of them,
thank god.
OK.
Oh, this is a heavy door.
-OK?
-That works.
[lift bell rings]
If only there was
a plastic ball...
"Good eve..." Wow!
Does it say,
"Good evening, Mason"?
Mason, it's time to relax.
That's your specialty.
Yeah, it is.
That's true, that's true.
-What are you doing?
-You'll hurt...
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
No, no, no.
I can use my feet as well.
This will end in tears.
I guess they have little themed
key cards for the competition.
At the national competition,
I accidentally wiped
two of them with my phone.
I wiped two key cards.
You may say what?
-I don't even remember.
-Hello.
Yeah, I did.
If you put it up
against your phone.
They don't do that
on newer phones.
NFC just kind of fell off
after Android 12.
You can't you can't do
that with your new phone?
No.
-Are you sure?
-Mm-hm.
My dad, he is very technology
oriented like me.
I find him to be very similar
to me in a lot of ways.
Every time.
How's this?
-Bidirectional shade.
-Works for me.
We do, we do a lot of
activities together
because our interests
are so aligned.
People will very much say that
he takes after me
in a lot of regards.
[Mason] Ham radio is called
amateur radio,
but you can talk to people
all around the world.
I've talked to people all around
the world.
There we go!
It is an interesting community
of mostly old men.
I don't know why,
I couldn't tell you why.
But someday,
I will be that old man.
I think my parents
just want to be supportive.
I don't really know
what they think about all this.
[woman] I was just thrilled
he got to compete.
Honestly, never crossed
my mind that he'd win it.
I mean, I'm not surprised,
but, like, it's nationals,
I don't know, I just didn't
I didn't, I don't know.
I didn't dare think
about him acing it,
and then it's like,
it's Mason. Of course he did.
[laughs]
I mean, I've never seen
him break under pressure,
but when he's at school here,
he's surrounded by
other kids his age
that are none of them
as smart as he is.
He walks into a room,
and he's always the smartest kid
in the room.
But now,
you're walking into a room
with all the other smartest kids
in the room, you know?
And so just getting to be there,
and then if you win,
it's a bonus.
Yeah.
It's like, "Oh, and by the way,
I also got to win."
[electronic music]
Hi, Mason! How are you?
Good. How are you?
It's going to be the M.
The Todd.
That is me.
-My email buddy.
-That's right.
Mason Braithwaite.
That's me.
So, I have just registered.
I have my lanyard.
They gave me a goodie bag.
When I got here,
I was really tired,
but I couldn't sleep.
I think just like the nerves
and, like, emotions.
Right. He's 15 years old.
15 years old? Oh, OK.
You're in university?
Yeah, I'm in university.
I'm final year.
What are you studying?
I'm studying economics.
Economics of foreign trade.
-Oh, OK.
-[chuckles ] Yes.
I've met the Excel
Vietnamese competitor.
I didn't get his name,
but he was very nice to me.
Um, he's a lot older
than me, though.
Good. Welcome.
And what is your first name?
-Braydon.
-Braydon.
What?
I miss my family a lot.
It would be fun to have
this experience with them.
[laughter]
I love that we are
a very close family.
Being the youngest,
it really helped me
to become the way I am.
[laughter]
I know it sounds like,
oh, I'm spoilt,
but I'm grateful for that.
[speaking Spanish]
My sister and I have
a really close relationship.
Like, we tell each other
everything.
[lively music]
At the competition,
it's going to be really weird
not having her
by my side, like,
the whole time.
We are keyboard testing today.
I've got mine. My dad has the
two backups we brought with us.
One is none.
Two is one, but one backup
is none backup.
So, we have two backups
for one backup.
[laughs]
It's surprising to see
the different personalities
that a candidate might have
in just how they come in,
sit down,
what they do on the keyboard.
Some will walk in, like I said,
and just say,
"Well, this is good, I'm fine.",
and others will fret
and worry about
mouse speed
and about the connection.
It's just checking to see
that it works
and that it's not
breaking any rules,
which I doubt three backups
will break any rules.
Um... So...
And you're gonna make sure
that all keys function...
Yep. Uh-huh.
...and perform
to specifications.
-All of the above.
-Love it.
In order to avoid cheating,
we validate the keyboards
to make sure that they're
not programmable.
Any kind of keyboard
that has lights or makes sound.
We made that mistake one year
where like, it was like,
a disco in here
because all these kids
brought these
tiny little cute keyboards
and like... [gibberish sounds]
It will be right here
when you come to test.
At the computer, OK?
-Thank you.
-Yeah, no problem. Good luck.
Go have fun.
I didn't bring my own keyboard,
but they're gonna lend me one,
so it's fine.
I honestly just forgot that we
were able to bring a keyboard.
But I'm happy with the one
on the laptop anyway.
The hardest or the biggest
challenge for Braden
is going to be
slowing his mind down
to ensure that his accuracy
is at the highest level
on every single question.
Reading that question thoroughly
and understanding it.
BING: Section two
is the application section.
This section tests
critical thinking,
problem solving, and accuracy.
Competitors are given
blank workbooks
and a series of
challenging questions.
It's a little bit pun intended
or unintended.
It depends on how
you look at it.
So, it's the application of your
knowledge in the application.
One of the questions
in this section
tests on Excel's
accuracy limitations
in handling large numbers
using the Fibonacci sequence,
where each number is the sum
of the previous two
and the numbers grow quickly.
Excel becomes inaccurate
after the numbers grow
beyond 15 digits.
Competitors must identify
and work around
this Excel limitation.
In real world scenarios,
accuracy is crucial.
[man] Ignition sequence starts.
Six, five, four, three,
two, one, zero.
Impact of accuracy
is high stakes
when you're sending things
to space.
Aerospace engineering,
the mechatronics, electronics,
and all of those areas
that are in charge of
the systems,
the hardware,
the whole ship that's going
to take your things to space.
It's high stakes
if you make a mistake
and don't catch it.
Each individual person
has around 3 billion letters
in their genome.
When you get cancer,
you get mutations or typos
and our job is to search
through that data
and identify where the typo is.
So, if we miss something
important in the data,
then it might be that a patient
misses out
on some life saving treatment.
You know, things happen here
that matter...
that will affect the world.
So, take it seriously.
Preparing them
ahead of the time,
knowing that, anticipating
potential difficulty
will allow them to calm down
and be mentally ready
for the challenge,
rather than freak out during
the test and started to cry.
Hmm. Yes.
Yes, I see.
Yeah. I see. OK.
Yes.
Living in Cameroon
is not really easy.
So, not always to go,
you are not going...
always going to have a straight
line in front of you.
So, you have to think
of other ways to do something.
So, I think that is a way
to be an advantage for them,
because they already know
that every road
is not always going to be
the straight one.
[indistinct chatter]
De La Paix doesn't have
a laptop.
Unfortunately, he hasn't,
he doesn't have one,
so he usually comes to school
and uses one of
the school's labs.
Cameroon students,
they face a lot of challenges.
They lack infrastructure.
You will find students
who may have the computers.
They may lack access to internet
connectivity,
which is not cheap in Cameroon,
and at times it is
not readily available.
In Guatemala, there's not
like that good level
in many schools.
When I got into the competition
here in Guatemala
I saw a lot, a lot of boys.
If I like, looked around,
they were pretty much all boys.
With this exam, the reason
we do offer it globally
is so that we do have
that equity, right,
that we are able to
allow everyone
the same opportunity,
whether they live in
a small village in Africa
or whether they live in
New York City.
So, competitions like this
profile the extraordinary
talent that we need
to have at the table
to be building
the machines that are going
to run society in the future.
Creativity in Excel
is especially important
because not all people are going
to be in a position in life
where they're crunching numbers,
and that's really what we
challenge them to do,
is take a lot of data
and make it useful.
BING: Section three
is the creativity section.
Competitors are given
a substantial data set.
They must visualise the data
in a pivot chart,
showcasing their ability to find
meaningful patterns in raw data
and transform this into clean
and insightful visuals.
A lot of competitors
find this section challenging.
For others,
this is their opportunity
to think outside the box,
and show off Excel
for all its capabilities.
When you're a scientist
and you're a specialist
in your area,
you know a bunch
of stuff with scientific terms,
things that only you
and your colleagues
are going to understand.
So, you have to
come with creativity
when you want to
pass this information
to the general public
so that they'll understand,
they'll get your point,
and they'll understand
also like the significance
of the work that you're doing.
So, running numbers
for the sake of numbers
is not particularly useful,
and the challenge comes
often that you have people
that are skilled in numbers
and data analysis
but are not skilled
in communication.
So, if we find a data analyst
who can communicate,
these people are gold.
Select the data
that's important,
that's going to
transmit the story
and the information
that you're interested in,
and then plot it in a way
that's understandable
and beautiful, like, to the eye.
["Always on my mind"
by Pet Shop Boys plays]
So, you have this group
of people
who might be nerds,
who might be, you know,
they're geeks
and all these other labels
that can apply to them,
and yet they are in so many
ways, just like their peers
in that they're
still adolescents,
and they're remarkable.
These students,
naturally, a lot of them
are shy.
They're introverts.
They're not really
the social butterflies.
A big part of the competition
is helping students
to build their self-esteem.
[woman] I really want
the students to know
that they are intelligent
and that they are capable,
and that they're
worth celebrating.
[music continues]
[cheering]
[woman] Today is testing day.
It is a big day
for all of the students.
Everyone... You can see
how nervous everyone is
as they're walking through.
We've seen a couple students
practising on their computers
to try to prep.
It's so wonderful to know
that De La Paix
plus all the other champions
we came with from Cameroon,
they were full of energy,
somehow.
I was expecting they were going
to be tired after the trip.
Far more than I can say,
30 hours to get here.
I haven't slept that much,
actually,
so I'm pretty angry at that.
I'm missing a lot in my family,
mostly my sister,
because she's usually there by,
"No, you're gonna be fine."
And I need that, like,
feeling relaxed with them.
Even if it was just he asked for
a pencil or whatever.
Anything that we can document.
Do we each have a pad?
I think Braden
has the potential.
But when you're put in a room
and there's fireworks flowing,
the heart's racing,
and you're in the middle
of that competition,
keeping his cool is going
to be his biggest challenge.
Right now, the nerves
are a little like sinking in,
but I think I'm gonna do great.
I think I'm just
feeling anxious.
I'm...
It's like just waiting.
Waiting it out.
I'm pretty confident I should
at least be able to do well.
That confidence
will take him far,
but it's also his Achilles heel.
He is a lot younger
than the other competitors,
and that could be
a little bit difficult
on your confidence.
I think I'm just worried, right?
I know the first part
of the test,
I'm like, I can do that.
That's easy.
The second part of the test
is completely unknown to me.
So, it's going to be a mystery
about like
what's going to happen.
Cameroon has never won
a gold medal before,
and I believe in his skills
and I believe he will make it.
Concentrate on
a particular option
or a particular objective.
Finish that one before
trying to do something else.
Apart from that,
he's good to go.
Alright, everybody,
let's pump 'em up! Let's go!
[applause and cheering]
[tense soundtrack]
[tense soundtrack building]
So, I want everyone
to take a deep breath.
We will begin in
three, two, one, start.
[tense soundtrack]
You just feel a sense
of heaviness in the room
as the students seriousness
about what was happening
was palpable.
[Bing] They need to know
not just the features,
not just the cover.
They also need to look inside
and understand why it works,
how it works,
instead of just knowing
it works this way.
These students, their knowledge
of the program is superior
to most of their peers,
and they're here in a
competition that is brutal.
[tense soundtrack]
How can I return
to a previous section?
You cannot go back.
I cannot go back?
Yeah, it's one way.
You made it...
At the beginning it said
you cannot go back.
Does that mean I cannot go
back to the section one?
No.
[tense soundtrack]
[tense soundtrack]
Hey, everyone,
go ahead and put the rest
of your papers in your envelope.
We'll be around to gather
your results shortly, OK?
That's alright.
We'll see how we go?
-Can we go?
-Yeah, sure.
Braydon came out of the test
and everything,
every emotion and feeling
just came out, and...
They had said that the
Australian student had given up,
had kind of, you know,
it had defeated him.
It seemed to me that he felt
as if there wasn't much point.
I think part of the reason
we make this so difficult,
in addition to
what we said earlier
about finding
the best of the best,
is to also to test someone's
ability to deal with the stress
during a limited time, right?
And there will be students
who absolutely are frustrated
who will leave this event
feeling that they did not get
a fair shake,
that it was too hard.
A myriad reasons for that.
It's not easy and it's not
supposed to be easy.
A lot of students
are walking out
feeling a little discouraged.
I've heard a lot of students
talk about how difficult
the test was this year.
Um, and I hope that even though
it was difficult
that they still feel
proud of themselves.
As soon as I saw the first
section, I was like,
OK, this is weird.
Uh, like my head
was like, what do I do now?
But I think I did
what was correct.
I did my best, and whatever
happens, happens.
I can go to sleep now,
like peacefully, completely,
and listen to One Direction.
I think I did better than most.
-That's...
-I did some really weird things
that worked out pretty well.
-OK.
-So...
-We'll see what happens.
-Right.
[humming quietly]
Go see my baby
Go...
I want a lot of people to win.
There are so many nice people,
but in the end of the day,
it's not about
whether they're nice.
It's about their skills, so...
The first two sections
of the tests were scored
completely automatically.
For the last section,
which is the creativity section.
Due to the
nature of subjectivity,
we actually require human judges
to follow a detailed rubric.
Do you feel... Excited?
-Nervous?
-I am...
Excited. 114.
So, for the Excel competition,
the winners are very clear.
How many phones
do you keep on you?
-You have that old flip phone.
-I have two...
OK. So, if one is none.
-Two is one.
-I have two phones on a trip,
but I actually have
a third phone
that I always leave
in my travel bag.
Wow.
Today, my dad's coming
for the ceremony
and I'm just so excited.
So, today is awards day.
I am feeling queasy.
So, no breakfast.
I think I'm more curious
just to find out how I did,
rather than if I won, per se.
Like, they're going to put
the top ten on their blog,
and I'm like, I wonder
if I'll be in there.
That's, I think, about
20% of the contingent.
And I would say
I'd be in the top 20%.
That wouldn't surprise me.
As I've gone around and I've
talked to a lot of students,
it's all nervous or some will
show me their hands shaking.
To be in the top three
is phenomenal
because they literally
are the best in the world.
They're in there
for the recognition.
They want to walk out of there
with a medal.
Welcome to the
Microsoft Office Specialist
World Championship event.
[applause and cheering]
One announcement will change
that person's life forever.
It's a big deal.
It's a world champion
returning home as a hero.
Are you excited to be here?
You have battled
the best in the world
to get to this stage today.
This is one of the largest
IT competitions in the world.
You're the best of the best.
Your national champions,
and today, we will crown
the world champions
in Microsoft Word, Excel
and PowerPoint.
Are you ready to find out
who our champions are?
[applause and cheering]
In the category
of Microsoft Word,
Thi Minh Anh Dang of Vietnam.
[applause and cheering]
Thi Thanh Truc Nguyen
of Vietnam.
It would like help me
as like a person
to pursue more of my dreams.
[applause and cheering]
Our third place winner...
-China...
-Bronze medallist...
PowerPoint...
-Our second place...
-Taiwan...
And silver medallist...
Sora Takaya of Japan.
World champion.
The first place winner
and gold medallist.
Alright, we're now moving
into our last category
of the day,
Microsoft Excel,
and remember, whatever happens
today, win or lose,
you are all champions.
Alright, announcing
our third place,
bronze medallist goes to...
Songglod Petchamras of Thailand.
[applause and cheering]
Alright, moving on to
our second place winner
and silver medallist.
That winner is...
Jamie Kildea of Ireland.
[applause and cheering]
Alright, let's get on the edges
of our seats.
Our world champion
gold medallist goes to...
Yuxiang Lin of Macau, China.
[applause and cheering]
While we don't announce
the top ten
from the stage
for each category,
go to certiport.com
and you will see the list
of all the top ten
of the Microsoft Office
competition.
[applause]
And even if you do not succeed
in this particular competition,
it always allows you
to take something home
and to think, to learn
and to improve on.
[applause and cheering]
...compete in another category
if you haven't already.
In the meantime,
safe travels home.
Thank you for coming.
I came tenth.
Did you? [laughs]
Well done, mate!
You came tenth!
Good on you, mate!
He came tenth!
I came tenth.
[laughter]
That's magic! That's brilliant!
Yeah, did you see who got tenth?
-Yeah.
-Yeah, congratulations!
Thank you.
Very proud of him. Very proud.
Top ten in the world.
It's amazing.
I'm very happy for Braydon
about him coming top ten
'cause he thought
he did really bad.
I'm definitely glad
that I came here.
That's why it's been,
like, a great experience.
Super proud of you, buddy.
Well done.
[cheering]
She's a very good example
for girls in our country
because technology
is not always so important
for some schools.
Other girls see
they can do this also.
It's amazing.
I got top seven, so...
I have to text Miss Jenny
right now.
My friend is already, like,
texting me.
Like, "I'm so proud of you!"
So, probably she already knows.
Yeah, my dad's here.
I saw him and I was like, OK.
The relief of seeing someone,
like someone I know,
and someone from home be here.
It's so good.
I feel very proud of myself.
I thought the exam was pretty
different and kind of difficult.
I really didn't believe
in myself, but I did good.
[singing in French]
[singing in French]
[cheering]
I told him before
that we were proud of him,
and I told him after
that we were proud of him
and he's still mowing the lawn
when we get back home.
I'd like to get him fed
because he hasn't
eaten anything today.
So, that's the mum priority,
is getting him fed,
and then just seeing
what we could do
to help him relax a little bit
and enjoy
the rest of the experience.
After the nationals, I was like,
oh, I practised that much
and I get this much back.
So, like, I don't have to
practise as much,
do good at Worlds,
and that was not true.
I was not prepared.
I think when I get home,
life will resume as normal
and then I will look back
on that and say,
"That was
a really weird summer",
and then continue to live.
When I hear someone say
they hate Excel,
I just think to myself,
you know you could make
your life a whole lot easier
if you didn't hate Excel.
I don't know, it's kind of like
when someone hates ice cream.
Like, but your life would
be easier if you loved it.
Yes, I like him still.
You don't love me anymore?
Oh, I love you. We're good.
-I love you too.
-Yeah.
Some of the students
that I have seen
over the course of my
dozen years doing this
did not win,
and they have gone on
to do remarkable things.
They are teachers.
They are business professionals.
They make more money than I do.
They will succeed.
If they were driven enough
to get to this point,
they will be driven enough
to move forward in the future.
Of that, I have no doubt.
I'm always inspired
by these kids,
and I believe that
these are the kids
that are going to
change the world.
[Bing] It's incredibly
fulfilling
to witness how education
improves the lives
of future generations.
The tech sector
run the world now,
so we need champions
like these young people
promoted and represented.
It's also going to be motivating
the new generation
to shoot for more
'cause they can do it.
The way I view it is, look,
there was this average student,
and I was an average student,
who was sitting right,
right there,
you know, in this classroom
who changed the world.
You could do that too.
They give me hope
that the world is in good hands.
[choral music]
Mason Braithwaite from the USA.
[applause and cheering]
Braydon Tanti from Australia.
[applause and cheering]
Melong Njoumangen Yvan
De La Paix from Cameroon.
[applause and cheering]
Alkmini Gaitan from Greece.
[applause and cheering]
Trung Nam Pham from Vietnam!
[applause and cheering]
Carmina Solares. Guatemala.
[applause and cheering]
[choral music continues]
A lot of questions.
A lot of lot of self-inspection.
It's like the health department.
Except instead of
checking the food,
you're checking yourself.
A very strange new experience
for me, 100%.
[laughs]
Who's your favourite
One Direction member?
Oh, I'm such a Niall girl,
I love Niall Horan.
How would you feel
if Niall Horan
watched this documentary?
I would, I would, I don't know,
I would be in the sky.
I would be...
I would be over the moon if he
saw this and he remembered me.
Hi, Niall. [chuckles]
[keyboard clicks]
[computer whirring up]
[keyboard clacking]
[woman] I think everyone
is good, but I am better.
[laughs]
It's definitely
a tonne of pressure
resting on my shoulders
for Australia.
I'll do something,
I'll check if it works,
and if it works,
we're good to go.
So, you have this group
of people who might be nerds.
You know, they're geeks.
They're representing
their country
in a competition that is brutal.
[man] They know the stakes
are high,
and it's going to change
that person's life forever.
They'll forever
be the world champion.
That one question can make
all the difference.
Just don't royally mess up.
[man] You know, not everybody
walks away with a medal.
Because if they didn't cry,
that means that the exam
wasn't good enough.
Oh, this is going to be good.
[cheers]
[man] Word, Excel,
and PowerPoint.
Most everybody in the world
uses Word
and Word can do some
pretty sophisticated things.
PowerPoint also.
Excel is a different level.
[woman] So, this is going to be,
I believe,
the back of the stage,
and you can see there's so many
different moving parts
happening right now
for this setup.
It's going to be
pretty incredible, pretty big.
You cannot walk off the street
and win this championship.
In fact, I would bet you
wouldn't even finish the exam.
[man] So, most people
in day-to-day use of Excel
where you understand
basic formulas and functions,
they probably use 10 to 15%.
These students are being
pressured to understand and use
60, 70% of that or more.
The competition content
that Bing has created,
he stretches what you will know
about Excel
and he will punish you.
Bing is not an evil genius.
Bing is precise and methodical.
He is focused on
creating a challenge
that will truly measure
an individual's greatness.
This year's tests are definitely
the most challenging ones
we've ever developed.
As students generally perform
better and better
in the competitions,
we have to raise the bar
and make the exam even harder
to find the best of the best.
[Steve] And these students
will absolutely be challenged,
there is no question.
I do believe that this will be
one of the hardest tests
that they've taken.
It would not surprise me
if we do see tears.
[woman] Most students
in reality,
they're not going to win,
even though they all are smart,
even though they all work hard.
I just really want them
to know that they're celebrated
and they're worth celebrating.
In five days, the competition
will kick off,
and it will culminate
in the excitement
that's been building up
for well over a year
for many of these competitors.
At this time, some competitors
are starting to make their way
to Orlando, Florida.
['Toccata and Fugue in D minor'
by Bach plays on keyboard]
I have always thought I am a
bizarre person and I know that,
and I know that everyone knows
that I'm ridiculous
and everyone knows that
I'm ridiculous.
I'm always interested
in complicated,
buttony things, you know?
[plays scale]
[man] Mason has been always very
comfortable in his own skin.
He, in elementary school,
wore bright purple socks
up to above his knees with
plaid pants and a tie-dye shirt.
He called it Fashion Friday.
-Like colour vomit.
-And he just doesn't care.
It's commentary.
It's satire.
It's really not, but, you know.
He definitely walks
to the beat of his own drummer.
I call that shameless
self-expression,
and it's something I've told him
that I hope he never loses.
This is my national
championship cheque.
I liked having a giant cheque.
It is in my room
and I love it dearly.
Eclectic craziness is in here.
OK, clearly,
it does not like this.
It's fine.
We'll make it work.
No, we won't. Alright.
Well, I have a little
printing calculator.
It does a bunch of cute stuff.
So, it's like a mirror,
and then this one sort of
acts more like a magnet.
I like playing around
with electronics.
I love programming
with computers.
I love using computers.
The organ is really borne out
of passion,
and the piano is just something
that I randomly was like,
"I should play piano."
Mason tends to be
a little forgetful
because his mind is full
of other things.
[morse code beeping]
And that's my name
in Morse code.
You mean when he forgot
to take the - wash the shampoo
out of his hair the other day?
Yes.
While he does things
like that, he owns it
and that's just part of
who he is.
I use Excel more than
most people would
in my day-to-day life.
I mean, you can understand that.
I'm a complete nerd.
I'm a very social nerd at that.
You can ask my friends.
Um, but...
Um, yeah.
Alkmini is not new
in the competition.
She has also competed
about another two times
in the national final.
[man] So, we have all the
soccer trophies
through many years of soccer.
The certificates for
the Microsoft competition,
and then we have the trophy
for the Microsoft competition,
the glass one, which was sent
over by Microsoft,
and my school presented it to me
at assembly.
Mr Wilkinson,
because he was presenting,
he really overplayed it.
So, he was like,
"Oh, magnificent achievement
"going all the way to Florida
to represent Australia."
So hyped up, and yeah.
Whenever I was in prep
or anything, or year one,
just had like a math solution,
I'd figure it out straight away.
I'd be that one person
in the class
who'd look forward
to the math test.
[man] He's always had
a natural ability
to work stuff out
really quickly,
and he's kind of self-taught
in a way,
because he's just so curious.
In school and stuff, especially,
I find stuff like assignments
really difficult,
and I find - 'cause I'm really
good at memorising things,
but then other stuff
like just writing assignments,
I just can't do that
to save my life.
I want to go more into Apple
game development when I grow up.
Although he did want
to be a famous soccer player.
Yeah, he did. Yeah, so...
Could be running
out of time for that, perhaps.
He's a good goalie though.
But you know.
Anyway, we'll see.
I think...
I think it's a bit boring.
I don't know how Braydon
finds it fun.
Yeah, I reckon he could win.
I think Braden's got
the potential to go all the way.
His speed of actually being able
to complete the assessment
is phenomenal.
He's one of
the quickest students
I've ever seen go through.
[Braydon] I didn't find
the Australian competition
very hard.
Like, I'd go through and there's
nothing that I didn't know,
and the questions
I got wrong were,
like, just...
There was maybe one question
I just hadn't learned yet
'cause it wasn't on any of
the practise exams or anything.
I didn't know there was an Excel
competition, to be honest.
Um, I'm pretty happy
I know now, so...
They didn't really understand
like how it would work
and how the Excel questions...
I don't think a lot - many
people at all understand,
like how you can have
a competition
on just Microsoft Excel.
[woman] This year, just under
a half a million
students tried to qualify
for the 2023 world championship.
I mean, it's not yet
to the degree of Comic-Con,
you know, where people
are dressed up,
but you get some
pretty passionate people
about software.
We've had several people
offered jobs in the airport
because they were world
champions on their way home.
So many of them, I don't know
where they would have been
had they not had
this opportunity.
I think it really - it does,
it changes their trajectory,
so it's pretty amazing.
For example, we have our
2022 silver medallist in Excel,
that he got
a very huge opportunity
in a university in the US.
He got a full scholarship.
I don't have to express
how much of an opportunity
that is for him.
Yeah.
This is my room tour.
So, here we have the desk
where I do my studies, homework,
everything
with just a little
reminder of my friends.
Here is where
I keep all my mess.
Bags, bags, bags and bags.
Uh, my One Direction book
and One Direction perfume.
I remember being born
and being a Directioner,
and I wanted to be a YouTuber.
Like, I really wanted to be one,
and I stole my parents' phone,
and I put up my flashlight
and I was like, "Hi, welcome
to my YouTube channel."
I didn't have one.
I just created it
by imagination.
Imagine. I could be like
a YouTuber and an Excel winner.
I like sleeping,
that's my number one hobby.
Like, I love sleeping,
I love napping,
but at the same time,
I like to study a lot.
Math is just like
my comfort zone.
Like, ever since I remember,
I was good at math.
Everyone's like, "Oh no,
we have math class right now."
And I'm like, "We have
math class right now!"
It's like... It's pretty nice.
I don' know.
[singing in French]
[singing in French]
[singing in French]
[man] The Excel winners,
they're incredibly smart.
They're probably the ones
that have the highest GPAs
that do really well
in the STEM technology.
Science, technology,
engineering and math.
These are elite Excel users.
These are almost elite
Excel athletes.
It is the language
and the currency of the future,
and without it, it's going
to be more difficult.
So, education and data literacy,
there could be no more
two important skills
to learn than these.
When students are going
through this competition,
they are developing
these essential
data literacy skills
that ability to understand data,
ability to get meaning out of
that data is an essential skill
that will help these
students in any future job.
This is the Microsoft
Worldwide Competition Lab,
and so this is the lab
where the students
will take their
competition exam.
So, we've just finished
setting it up.
We've got a couple of final
checks to make sure
that everything is working,
that power plugs are charging
the laptops like they're
supposed to, that mice work.
So, we'll just go through
and touch each machine,
make sure all is well.
We have less than I have
for people who have access
to the actual creative
instructions for this year.
It's in a sealed envelope
that the student then has to
break open,
and there's some of that
is for drama.
But most of it largely
is for security.
And everyone, we're going to be
starting shortly
once Bing gives me the OK.
-Three, two...
-OK.
I just love looking
into his eyes...
Three, two, one, go!
Ooh, and that worked.
-Yeah.
-Y'all can't see this.
But it worked.
"Manage your time wisely,
"keep track of the time
during the exam
"to ensure you complete
all three sections.
"When you're ready to start,
select the start exam button."
OK, no more videotape.
Don't read the actual question,
please.
I won't, I won't.
No. You're nervous
and I love it.
Yes, I am nervous.
You don't need to feel that.
[laughs]
I have no idea.
Like, I just know it's going
to be a 100-minute exam.
Like, they're very...
They're very like hush-hush
about it,
like, the details.
[smooth electronic music]
BING: The exam is broken down
into three sections.
Section one
is the knowledge section.
It's a series of questions
to see how much they know
about Excel,
without access to Excel.
This section tests competitors
on their memory
of Excel's essential features
as well as its history.
Many of the features in Excel
have been there from
previous legacy programs,
dating back decades.
[upbeat electronic music]
[man] When you hear the word
'spreadsheet',
most people think of
Microsoft Excel.
But a spreadsheet used to be
an actual piece of paper.
Until these two graduates
had an idea.
My name is Dan Bricklin
and people call me the father
of the electronic spreadsheet.
I was a student at Harvard
Business School,
and we would be discussing
and learning
about different
business problems.
We had blackboards, we'd write
numbers on them,
and then you'd say, "Well, what
if this was a different number?"
And then you'd have to do
all the calculations,
and I sort of imagined that
there was a magic blackboard,
that you could erase a number
and write a new number in,
and all the calculations
would recalculate,
and I started building
what we now know
as electronic spreadsheet.
I came up with the idea
of the columns and the rows
and A-B-C, one, two, three.
Now, we've set this up, OK?
Then we type a new value in.
OK, here, I'm going to
take that 100
and I'm going to change it,
right,
and here it recalculates.
Whoa!
That saved me so much time!
You can do things before,
which would take weeks to do
in 15 minutes.
[man] The time and money
business saved was astronomical.
So, the spreadsheet became
the language of business.
It was the first time in history
that people were
buying computers
to run software,
and VisiCalc was only available
on Apple.
This is what propelled
the success of Apple
beyond anyone's
wildest expectations,
and revolutionised
the personal computer.
The spreadsheet became
a significant part
in the rise of the computer era.
No matter what industry
you're in,
it relies on
a spreadsheet somewhere,
even if you're not
using it yourself.
It's here for the long haul
because spreadsheets
rule the world.
[woman] It is the core building
block for most businesses,
as well as the
core building block
for artificial intelligence.
So, when we build AI,
essentially we build it
on databases and spreadsheets.
[Dan Briklin]
It's a general purpose tool,
and we threw in everything
but the kitchen sink
because we wanted it to be good
for so many different things.
We didn't know which one would
be the one it was best for.
It turned out all of them,
thank god.
OK.
Oh, this is a heavy door.
-OK?
-That works.
[lift bell rings]
If only there was
a plastic ball...
"Good eve..." Wow!
Does it say,
"Good evening, Mason"?
Mason, it's time to relax.
That's your specialty.
Yeah, it is.
That's true, that's true.
-What are you doing?
-You'll hurt...
What are you doing?
What are you doing?
No, no, no.
I can use my feet as well.
This will end in tears.
I guess they have little themed
key cards for the competition.
At the national competition,
I accidentally wiped
two of them with my phone.
I wiped two key cards.
You may say what?
-I don't even remember.
-Hello.
Yeah, I did.
If you put it up
against your phone.
They don't do that
on newer phones.
NFC just kind of fell off
after Android 12.
You can't you can't do
that with your new phone?
No.
-Are you sure?
-Mm-hm.
My dad, he is very technology
oriented like me.
I find him to be very similar
to me in a lot of ways.
Every time.
How's this?
-Bidirectional shade.
-Works for me.
We do, we do a lot of
activities together
because our interests
are so aligned.
People will very much say that
he takes after me
in a lot of regards.
[Mason] Ham radio is called
amateur radio,
but you can talk to people
all around the world.
I've talked to people all around
the world.
There we go!
It is an interesting community
of mostly old men.
I don't know why,
I couldn't tell you why.
But someday,
I will be that old man.
I think my parents
just want to be supportive.
I don't really know
what they think about all this.
[woman] I was just thrilled
he got to compete.
Honestly, never crossed
my mind that he'd win it.
I mean, I'm not surprised,
but, like, it's nationals,
I don't know, I just didn't
I didn't, I don't know.
I didn't dare think
about him acing it,
and then it's like,
it's Mason. Of course he did.
[laughs]
I mean, I've never seen
him break under pressure,
but when he's at school here,
he's surrounded by
other kids his age
that are none of them
as smart as he is.
He walks into a room,
and he's always the smartest kid
in the room.
But now,
you're walking into a room
with all the other smartest kids
in the room, you know?
And so just getting to be there,
and then if you win,
it's a bonus.
Yeah.
It's like, "Oh, and by the way,
I also got to win."
[electronic music]
Hi, Mason! How are you?
Good. How are you?
It's going to be the M.
The Todd.
That is me.
-My email buddy.
-That's right.
Mason Braithwaite.
That's me.
So, I have just registered.
I have my lanyard.
They gave me a goodie bag.
When I got here,
I was really tired,
but I couldn't sleep.
I think just like the nerves
and, like, emotions.
Right. He's 15 years old.
15 years old? Oh, OK.
You're in university?
Yeah, I'm in university.
I'm final year.
What are you studying?
I'm studying economics.
Economics of foreign trade.
-Oh, OK.
-[chuckles ] Yes.
I've met the Excel
Vietnamese competitor.
I didn't get his name,
but he was very nice to me.
Um, he's a lot older
than me, though.
Good. Welcome.
And what is your first name?
-Braydon.
-Braydon.
What?
I miss my family a lot.
It would be fun to have
this experience with them.
[laughter]
I love that we are
a very close family.
Being the youngest,
it really helped me
to become the way I am.
[laughter]
I know it sounds like,
oh, I'm spoilt,
but I'm grateful for that.
[speaking Spanish]
My sister and I have
a really close relationship.
Like, we tell each other
everything.
[lively music]
At the competition,
it's going to be really weird
not having her
by my side, like,
the whole time.
We are keyboard testing today.
I've got mine. My dad has the
two backups we brought with us.
One is none.
Two is one, but one backup
is none backup.
So, we have two backups
for one backup.
[laughs]
It's surprising to see
the different personalities
that a candidate might have
in just how they come in,
sit down,
what they do on the keyboard.
Some will walk in, like I said,
and just say,
"Well, this is good, I'm fine.",
and others will fret
and worry about
mouse speed
and about the connection.
It's just checking to see
that it works
and that it's not
breaking any rules,
which I doubt three backups
will break any rules.
Um... So...
And you're gonna make sure
that all keys function...
Yep. Uh-huh.
...and perform
to specifications.
-All of the above.
-Love it.
In order to avoid cheating,
we validate the keyboards
to make sure that they're
not programmable.
Any kind of keyboard
that has lights or makes sound.
We made that mistake one year
where like, it was like,
a disco in here
because all these kids
brought these
tiny little cute keyboards
and like... [gibberish sounds]
It will be right here
when you come to test.
At the computer, OK?
-Thank you.
-Yeah, no problem. Good luck.
Go have fun.
I didn't bring my own keyboard,
but they're gonna lend me one,
so it's fine.
I honestly just forgot that we
were able to bring a keyboard.
But I'm happy with the one
on the laptop anyway.
The hardest or the biggest
challenge for Braden
is going to be
slowing his mind down
to ensure that his accuracy
is at the highest level
on every single question.
Reading that question thoroughly
and understanding it.
BING: Section two
is the application section.
This section tests
critical thinking,
problem solving, and accuracy.
Competitors are given
blank workbooks
and a series of
challenging questions.
It's a little bit pun intended
or unintended.
It depends on how
you look at it.
So, it's the application of your
knowledge in the application.
One of the questions
in this section
tests on Excel's
accuracy limitations
in handling large numbers
using the Fibonacci sequence,
where each number is the sum
of the previous two
and the numbers grow quickly.
Excel becomes inaccurate
after the numbers grow
beyond 15 digits.
Competitors must identify
and work around
this Excel limitation.
In real world scenarios,
accuracy is crucial.
[man] Ignition sequence starts.
Six, five, four, three,
two, one, zero.
Impact of accuracy
is high stakes
when you're sending things
to space.
Aerospace engineering,
the mechatronics, electronics,
and all of those areas
that are in charge of
the systems,
the hardware,
the whole ship that's going
to take your things to space.
It's high stakes
if you make a mistake
and don't catch it.
Each individual person
has around 3 billion letters
in their genome.
When you get cancer,
you get mutations or typos
and our job is to search
through that data
and identify where the typo is.
So, if we miss something
important in the data,
then it might be that a patient
misses out
on some life saving treatment.
You know, things happen here
that matter...
that will affect the world.
So, take it seriously.
Preparing them
ahead of the time,
knowing that, anticipating
potential difficulty
will allow them to calm down
and be mentally ready
for the challenge,
rather than freak out during
the test and started to cry.
Hmm. Yes.
Yes, I see.
Yeah. I see. OK.
Yes.
Living in Cameroon
is not really easy.
So, not always to go,
you are not going...
always going to have a straight
line in front of you.
So, you have to think
of other ways to do something.
So, I think that is a way
to be an advantage for them,
because they already know
that every road
is not always going to be
the straight one.
[indistinct chatter]
De La Paix doesn't have
a laptop.
Unfortunately, he hasn't,
he doesn't have one,
so he usually comes to school
and uses one of
the school's labs.
Cameroon students,
they face a lot of challenges.
They lack infrastructure.
You will find students
who may have the computers.
They may lack access to internet
connectivity,
which is not cheap in Cameroon,
and at times it is
not readily available.
In Guatemala, there's not
like that good level
in many schools.
When I got into the competition
here in Guatemala
I saw a lot, a lot of boys.
If I like, looked around,
they were pretty much all boys.
With this exam, the reason
we do offer it globally
is so that we do have
that equity, right,
that we are able to
allow everyone
the same opportunity,
whether they live in
a small village in Africa
or whether they live in
New York City.
So, competitions like this
profile the extraordinary
talent that we need
to have at the table
to be building
the machines that are going
to run society in the future.
Creativity in Excel
is especially important
because not all people are going
to be in a position in life
where they're crunching numbers,
and that's really what we
challenge them to do,
is take a lot of data
and make it useful.
BING: Section three
is the creativity section.
Competitors are given
a substantial data set.
They must visualise the data
in a pivot chart,
showcasing their ability to find
meaningful patterns in raw data
and transform this into clean
and insightful visuals.
A lot of competitors
find this section challenging.
For others,
this is their opportunity
to think outside the box,
and show off Excel
for all its capabilities.
When you're a scientist
and you're a specialist
in your area,
you know a bunch
of stuff with scientific terms,
things that only you
and your colleagues
are going to understand.
So, you have to
come with creativity
when you want to
pass this information
to the general public
so that they'll understand,
they'll get your point,
and they'll understand
also like the significance
of the work that you're doing.
So, running numbers
for the sake of numbers
is not particularly useful,
and the challenge comes
often that you have people
that are skilled in numbers
and data analysis
but are not skilled
in communication.
So, if we find a data analyst
who can communicate,
these people are gold.
Select the data
that's important,
that's going to
transmit the story
and the information
that you're interested in,
and then plot it in a way
that's understandable
and beautiful, like, to the eye.
["Always on my mind"
by Pet Shop Boys plays]
So, you have this group
of people
who might be nerds,
who might be, you know,
they're geeks
and all these other labels
that can apply to them,
and yet they are in so many
ways, just like their peers
in that they're
still adolescents,
and they're remarkable.
These students,
naturally, a lot of them
are shy.
They're introverts.
They're not really
the social butterflies.
A big part of the competition
is helping students
to build their self-esteem.
[woman] I really want
the students to know
that they are intelligent
and that they are capable,
and that they're
worth celebrating.
[music continues]
[cheering]
[woman] Today is testing day.
It is a big day
for all of the students.
Everyone... You can see
how nervous everyone is
as they're walking through.
We've seen a couple students
practising on their computers
to try to prep.
It's so wonderful to know
that De La Paix
plus all the other champions
we came with from Cameroon,
they were full of energy,
somehow.
I was expecting they were going
to be tired after the trip.
Far more than I can say,
30 hours to get here.
I haven't slept that much,
actually,
so I'm pretty angry at that.
I'm missing a lot in my family,
mostly my sister,
because she's usually there by,
"No, you're gonna be fine."
And I need that, like,
feeling relaxed with them.
Even if it was just he asked for
a pencil or whatever.
Anything that we can document.
Do we each have a pad?
I think Braden
has the potential.
But when you're put in a room
and there's fireworks flowing,
the heart's racing,
and you're in the middle
of that competition,
keeping his cool is going
to be his biggest challenge.
Right now, the nerves
are a little like sinking in,
but I think I'm gonna do great.
I think I'm just
feeling anxious.
I'm...
It's like just waiting.
Waiting it out.
I'm pretty confident I should
at least be able to do well.
That confidence
will take him far,
but it's also his Achilles heel.
He is a lot younger
than the other competitors,
and that could be
a little bit difficult
on your confidence.
I think I'm just worried, right?
I know the first part
of the test,
I'm like, I can do that.
That's easy.
The second part of the test
is completely unknown to me.
So, it's going to be a mystery
about like
what's going to happen.
Cameroon has never won
a gold medal before,
and I believe in his skills
and I believe he will make it.
Concentrate on
a particular option
or a particular objective.
Finish that one before
trying to do something else.
Apart from that,
he's good to go.
Alright, everybody,
let's pump 'em up! Let's go!
[applause and cheering]
[tense soundtrack]
[tense soundtrack building]
So, I want everyone
to take a deep breath.
We will begin in
three, two, one, start.
[tense soundtrack]
You just feel a sense
of heaviness in the room
as the students seriousness
about what was happening
was palpable.
[Bing] They need to know
not just the features,
not just the cover.
They also need to look inside
and understand why it works,
how it works,
instead of just knowing
it works this way.
These students, their knowledge
of the program is superior
to most of their peers,
and they're here in a
competition that is brutal.
[tense soundtrack]
How can I return
to a previous section?
You cannot go back.
I cannot go back?
Yeah, it's one way.
You made it...
At the beginning it said
you cannot go back.
Does that mean I cannot go
back to the section one?
No.
[tense soundtrack]
[tense soundtrack]
Hey, everyone,
go ahead and put the rest
of your papers in your envelope.
We'll be around to gather
your results shortly, OK?
That's alright.
We'll see how we go?
-Can we go?
-Yeah, sure.
Braydon came out of the test
and everything,
every emotion and feeling
just came out, and...
They had said that the
Australian student had given up,
had kind of, you know,
it had defeated him.
It seemed to me that he felt
as if there wasn't much point.
I think part of the reason
we make this so difficult,
in addition to
what we said earlier
about finding
the best of the best,
is to also to test someone's
ability to deal with the stress
during a limited time, right?
And there will be students
who absolutely are frustrated
who will leave this event
feeling that they did not get
a fair shake,
that it was too hard.
A myriad reasons for that.
It's not easy and it's not
supposed to be easy.
A lot of students
are walking out
feeling a little discouraged.
I've heard a lot of students
talk about how difficult
the test was this year.
Um, and I hope that even though
it was difficult
that they still feel
proud of themselves.
As soon as I saw the first
section, I was like,
OK, this is weird.
Uh, like my head
was like, what do I do now?
But I think I did
what was correct.
I did my best, and whatever
happens, happens.
I can go to sleep now,
like peacefully, completely,
and listen to One Direction.
I think I did better than most.
-That's...
-I did some really weird things
that worked out pretty well.
-OK.
-So...
-We'll see what happens.
-Right.
[humming quietly]
Go see my baby
Go...
I want a lot of people to win.
There are so many nice people,
but in the end of the day,
it's not about
whether they're nice.
It's about their skills, so...
The first two sections
of the tests were scored
completely automatically.
For the last section,
which is the creativity section.
Due to the
nature of subjectivity,
we actually require human judges
to follow a detailed rubric.
Do you feel... Excited?
-Nervous?
-I am...
Excited. 114.
So, for the Excel competition,
the winners are very clear.
How many phones
do you keep on you?
-You have that old flip phone.
-I have two...
OK. So, if one is none.
-Two is one.
-I have two phones on a trip,
but I actually have
a third phone
that I always leave
in my travel bag.
Wow.
Today, my dad's coming
for the ceremony
and I'm just so excited.
So, today is awards day.
I am feeling queasy.
So, no breakfast.
I think I'm more curious
just to find out how I did,
rather than if I won, per se.
Like, they're going to put
the top ten on their blog,
and I'm like, I wonder
if I'll be in there.
That's, I think, about
20% of the contingent.
And I would say
I'd be in the top 20%.
That wouldn't surprise me.
As I've gone around and I've
talked to a lot of students,
it's all nervous or some will
show me their hands shaking.
To be in the top three
is phenomenal
because they literally
are the best in the world.
They're in there
for the recognition.
They want to walk out of there
with a medal.
Welcome to the
Microsoft Office Specialist
World Championship event.
[applause and cheering]
One announcement will change
that person's life forever.
It's a big deal.
It's a world champion
returning home as a hero.
Are you excited to be here?
You have battled
the best in the world
to get to this stage today.
This is one of the largest
IT competitions in the world.
You're the best of the best.
Your national champions,
and today, we will crown
the world champions
in Microsoft Word, Excel
and PowerPoint.
Are you ready to find out
who our champions are?
[applause and cheering]
In the category
of Microsoft Word,
Thi Minh Anh Dang of Vietnam.
[applause and cheering]
Thi Thanh Truc Nguyen
of Vietnam.
It would like help me
as like a person
to pursue more of my dreams.
[applause and cheering]
Our third place winner...
-China...
-Bronze medallist...
PowerPoint...
-Our second place...
-Taiwan...
And silver medallist...
Sora Takaya of Japan.
World champion.
The first place winner
and gold medallist.
Alright, we're now moving
into our last category
of the day,
Microsoft Excel,
and remember, whatever happens
today, win or lose,
you are all champions.
Alright, announcing
our third place,
bronze medallist goes to...
Songglod Petchamras of Thailand.
[applause and cheering]
Alright, moving on to
our second place winner
and silver medallist.
That winner is...
Jamie Kildea of Ireland.
[applause and cheering]
Alright, let's get on the edges
of our seats.
Our world champion
gold medallist goes to...
Yuxiang Lin of Macau, China.
[applause and cheering]
While we don't announce
the top ten
from the stage
for each category,
go to certiport.com
and you will see the list
of all the top ten
of the Microsoft Office
competition.
[applause]
And even if you do not succeed
in this particular competition,
it always allows you
to take something home
and to think, to learn
and to improve on.
[applause and cheering]
...compete in another category
if you haven't already.
In the meantime,
safe travels home.
Thank you for coming.
I came tenth.
Did you? [laughs]
Well done, mate!
You came tenth!
Good on you, mate!
He came tenth!
I came tenth.
[laughter]
That's magic! That's brilliant!
Yeah, did you see who got tenth?
-Yeah.
-Yeah, congratulations!
Thank you.
Very proud of him. Very proud.
Top ten in the world.
It's amazing.
I'm very happy for Braydon
about him coming top ten
'cause he thought
he did really bad.
I'm definitely glad
that I came here.
That's why it's been,
like, a great experience.
Super proud of you, buddy.
Well done.
[cheering]
She's a very good example
for girls in our country
because technology
is not always so important
for some schools.
Other girls see
they can do this also.
It's amazing.
I got top seven, so...
I have to text Miss Jenny
right now.
My friend is already, like,
texting me.
Like, "I'm so proud of you!"
So, probably she already knows.
Yeah, my dad's here.
I saw him and I was like, OK.
The relief of seeing someone,
like someone I know,
and someone from home be here.
It's so good.
I feel very proud of myself.
I thought the exam was pretty
different and kind of difficult.
I really didn't believe
in myself, but I did good.
[singing in French]
[singing in French]
[cheering]
I told him before
that we were proud of him,
and I told him after
that we were proud of him
and he's still mowing the lawn
when we get back home.
I'd like to get him fed
because he hasn't
eaten anything today.
So, that's the mum priority,
is getting him fed,
and then just seeing
what we could do
to help him relax a little bit
and enjoy
the rest of the experience.
After the nationals, I was like,
oh, I practised that much
and I get this much back.
So, like, I don't have to
practise as much,
do good at Worlds,
and that was not true.
I was not prepared.
I think when I get home,
life will resume as normal
and then I will look back
on that and say,
"That was
a really weird summer",
and then continue to live.
When I hear someone say
they hate Excel,
I just think to myself,
you know you could make
your life a whole lot easier
if you didn't hate Excel.
I don't know, it's kind of like
when someone hates ice cream.
Like, but your life would
be easier if you loved it.
Yes, I like him still.
You don't love me anymore?
Oh, I love you. We're good.
-I love you too.
-Yeah.
Some of the students
that I have seen
over the course of my
dozen years doing this
did not win,
and they have gone on
to do remarkable things.
They are teachers.
They are business professionals.
They make more money than I do.
They will succeed.
If they were driven enough
to get to this point,
they will be driven enough
to move forward in the future.
Of that, I have no doubt.
I'm always inspired
by these kids,
and I believe that
these are the kids
that are going to
change the world.
[Bing] It's incredibly
fulfilling
to witness how education
improves the lives
of future generations.
The tech sector
run the world now,
so we need champions
like these young people
promoted and represented.
It's also going to be motivating
the new generation
to shoot for more
'cause they can do it.
The way I view it is, look,
there was this average student,
and I was an average student,
who was sitting right,
right there,
you know, in this classroom
who changed the world.
You could do that too.
They give me hope
that the world is in good hands.
[choral music]
Mason Braithwaite from the USA.
[applause and cheering]
Braydon Tanti from Australia.
[applause and cheering]
Melong Njoumangen Yvan
De La Paix from Cameroon.
[applause and cheering]
Alkmini Gaitan from Greece.
[applause and cheering]
Trung Nam Pham from Vietnam!
[applause and cheering]
Carmina Solares. Guatemala.
[applause and cheering]
[choral music continues]
A lot of questions.
A lot of lot of self-inspection.
It's like the health department.
Except instead of
checking the food,
you're checking yourself.
A very strange new experience
for me, 100%.
[laughs]
Who's your favourite
One Direction member?
Oh, I'm such a Niall girl,
I love Niall Horan.
How would you feel
if Niall Horan
watched this documentary?
I would, I would, I don't know,
I would be in the sky.
I would be...
I would be over the moon if he
saw this and he remembered me.
Hi, Niall. [chuckles]