Microsoft Certified Professional award feels more like Scout badge |
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Microsoft Certified Professional award feels more like Scout badge
This week brought news of a 9-year-old girl becoming a Microsoft Certified Professional, achieving the designation that the company gives to outside experts "who have the skills to implement a Microsoft product or technology successfully as part of a business solution in an organization." The reports about M. Lavinashree of India becoming an MCP earned her lots of praise online.
It's a great story, particularly in an industry that needs more women, and we don't mean to take anything away from the achievement, But in reality, she's only the latest in a series of children under 10 to achieve Microsoft certification. A few years ago, I reported on the remarkable Arfa Karim of Pakistan, who visited with Bill Gates in Redmond after she earned the MCP designation at 9 years old. Babar Iqbal of Pakistan also became an MCP at the age of nine.
In fact, some past reports cite instances of kids as young as eight becoming MCPs.
Which raises the question: Are we seeing the emergence of a new generation of technological geniuses? Or are Microsoft's certification exams too easy?
For an insider's take, I emailed Arfa, who is now 13 and has kept me updated on her progress over the years. I asked her what she thought about another 9-year-old becoming an MCP.
"This is the first time I've seen this story. But I must say that I'm really happy to have read it," she wrote back. "I am very glad to see that people are following what I did and have succeeded in beating me. ... I would say that the other youngsters should follow suit, thereby convincing the people to take us kids seriously. Our generation is very talented and so should be promoted."
Arfa says she's been busy with her conventional studies in recent years and hasn't been as involved in software development. However, she writes, "I am looking into new technologies such as Android and am going to be a part of small research projects with university students."
And she's laying the groundwork to apply for MIT, her "dream university," to study computer science.
(Image via Scout Pack 31, with modifications.)
About Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
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