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������� computing students are ranked in the top 10 for a national Microsoft challenge, out of 250 other institutions. 

The Microsoft Cloud Challenge invites students to train in its Azure cloud platform and awards points based on their participation and performance. 

Nearly 150 students from across the School of Computing are currently involved in the challenge, led by lecturer Dr Mani Ghahremani who runs weekly on-campus workshops to help students pass the exams.

He said: “We encourage students to take part in extracurricular activities like this to boost their CVs and portfolios. Not all businesses are using Microsoft Cloud services because Google and Amazon also provide their equivalent services. But the significant point is that almost all businesses rely on cloud technologies and services to keep mission-critical applications and processes up and running. Hence, there is a high demand for graduates skilled in cloud technologies.

“A Microsoft Certification validates a student’s ability to perform in a modern digital business, giving them a better chance of getting hired and increasing their chances of being promoted.”

Students are offered the chance to attain certification in three key areas: , , and – each of which offer different skills to use within the Azure platform. 

Dr Ghahremani added the courses are valuable because they give hands-on experience with cloud services that large corporations use and how to use them: “I often visit students on placements and can attest to the fact that these courses help bridge the gap between what students study at university and how the industry operates in real life.”

The ������� has a partnership with Microsoft so that all students and staff can take the exams for free. If they pass, they’re awarded an industry-recognised certificate from Microsoft, which shows their skills in a subject of their choosing - cloud, AI, data or security.