Twenty-one Bhutanese youth were awarded the international computer skills certification for the first time in Bhutan on July 13 in Thimphu.

The youth were awarded the ICDL certificate for scoring 75 percent and above in the national round of digital challenge held at Royal Institute of Management (RIM), Thimphu on July 12.

To prepare the youths for the challenge, starting July 5, a weeklong digital camp was also held at RIM. RIM became an accredited test centre for ICDL last year.

The students were provided courses on powerpoint, spreadsheet, and word processing.

Director at Bhutan Media and Communications Institute (BMCI), Pushpa Chhetri, said that through the digital camp youth could see the digital landscape of Bhutan and the skills in demand worldwide.

Top four winners of the national round, two each from tertiary and higher secondary schools, will compete in the final round of the second digital challenge. The challenge would be held among 10 countries in Bangkok, Thailand.

Subham Chhetri from Pelkhil School, Deepshik Sharma from Motithang Higher Secondary School, Dorji Gyeltshen from Sherubtse College, and Dorji Wangchuk from RIM were selected for the final round of the digital challenge in September this year.

Pushpa Chhetri said that the four winners would be groomed again for the challenge. “The ICDL digital challenge was started last year to celebrate 20 years of ICDL in Asia. They continued as it was found to be very successful and useful among the students.”

The youth were selected through preliminary tests in eight tertiary and three higher secondary schools in May this year. More than 500 students had registered for the competition.

A student of Faculty of Nursing and Public Health, Chador Wangzom, said that the weeklong ICDL training taught her ideas and basics to develop work related application. “Having been interested in IT, it inspired me to learn more and at the best I can.”

Karma Cheki