Microsoft Industry Certification Program earns outstanding Centre of Excellence recognition

It was truly an honour to receive the 2025–2026 Outstanding Centre of Excellence Gold Certification from Mr Andrew Griggs, Chief Operating Officer, at Prodigy Learning Australia, for our Microsoft Certification Program initiative, on behalf of the Faculty of Law and Business, which I have had the privilege of leading.

This recognition is especially meaningful as we received this accolade once before in 2022–2023. I have learnt so much since the conception of this project, and it has been one of the most valuable learning experiences in navigating challenges in an ever-changing technology world.

A profound thank you to David Smith for carrying this initiative forward beyond the NPILF era, empowering our students to “hit the ground running” with certified, up-to-date core digital skills through the embedding of Microsoft certifications into IT and business courses.

My sincere thanks go to the many members of the NPILF and other leadership teams - across the Provost Office, IT Directorate, Enterprise Office, faculty, school and discipline - both past and present, whose support and guidance helped us navigate and overcome the early challenges of integrating Microsoft certifications into our curriculum.

A special thanks to Mehdi Rajaeian, Kamanashis Biswas and Thuy-Linh Nguyen, who have supported this journey since implementation in 2021 - steadfast through every challenge and milestone along the way. I am also deeply grateful for the invaluable administrative support provided by Tuan Chau and Hema Soundranayagam.

A big shout out to Jorja Hammond, who proudly represented both Australia and ACU and achieved fourth place in Microsoft Excel at the prestigious Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship in Florida. As the only participant chosen from Australia, Jorja’s achievement is a proud moment for ACU and a remarkable milestone that places our students’ digital skills on the global stage.

Finally, my heartfelt thanks to all academic colleagues from the Peter Faber Business School whose contributions have been instrumental in making this initiative a continued success, both directly and indirectly.

Bhavani Sridharan, Associate Dean, Learning & Teaching and Accreditation