Develop your IT skills, gain Microsoft Office certifications, and succeed in today’s technology-led world.
Learn the basics
Are you new to IT? Click here to learn The Basics.
Our campus PCs and laptops run on Windows 11. Here is an overview of the features.
Book IT training
The IT Training team offers tailored one-to-one sessions to make sure you are comfortable using IT to its full potential. These cover basic IT skills as well as the software and platforms you use while at University, including Microsoft Office, Blackboard, Turnitin, Padlet and PebblePad. There is also support for our international students as well as our students with disabilities.
Free Microsoft Office certification
Boost your academic performance and make your CV stand out by adding a Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certificate to your skillset.
These certifications cost hundreds of pounds but are completely free for our students and graduates (within 1 year).
1. Book onto the Microsoft Office Specialist Workshop
Throughout the academic year, we offer workshops for Word, PowerPoint, and two-part workshops for Excel and Outlook. These consist of the training itself, tips for the exams, and they give you space to ask questions.
Find the upcoming workshops at the bottom of this page or on the Student events page.
2. Revise and do practice exams
The post-workshop email will give you access instructions for the training portal GMetrix to do your revision and take practice exams.
Review the type of questions you will get asked by checking the exam objectives published by our exam provider, Certiport.
3. Take the exam
Once you are ready, book your exam here.
Each exam takes 50 minutes. It is hosted on the Certiport platform and you can take it using the campus PCs or your own computer. You will work through a series of real-world scenarios and tasks which reflect the workforce demands. You need to score at least 70% to pass.
If you have special arrangements agreed for your academic exams, you can request these for your Microsoft Office Specialist exams too. Let the IT training team know during your workshop or via email at it-training@canterbury.ac.uk.
You will receive your results immediately after the exam, and you will access your digital certificate on Certiport.
There are separate exams for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. You receive an 'Associate' certificate for each exam you pass.
If you gain at least 3 different 'Associate' certifications, you can take the 'Expert' level exams in Word and Excel. If you pass those, you can officially call yourself a Microsoft Office Specialist!
You will receive your results immediately after the exam, and you will be able to access your digital certificate on Certiport.
You will also get an email showing you how to claim a badge you can add to your LinkedIn profile.
Don’t forget to update your CV too.
If you attend the full workshop, do some revision, and practice an exam or two, you shouldn’t have too much trouble passing.
If you don't pass, you can re-take the exam.
The results will show you which areas you need to revise more. You can also book additional training session with the IT training team.
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