22 Nov 2014 | 10:38pm IST
Forget Barney and playtime, this five year old is busy earning IT certificates
While most kids are busy with their regular
learning routines, Aryan Qureshi is taking
the next step forward
Team herald
Meet six year old Ayan Qureshi, the youngest-ever
certified computer specialist. While many kids his age
are busy learning basic addition and subtraction, this
youngster aced his Microsoft Certified Professional
exams in September, when he was still five. Technically,
he was five years and 11 months old at the time. That’s
seven months younger than the whiz-kid who previously
held the title of youngest certified computer specialist.
Born to U.K.-based Pakistani immigrants Asim, and
Mamoona Qureshi, Ayan was introduced to computers
when he was only three by his father, who is an IT
consultant. It didn’t take long for Mr. Qureshi to notice
that Ayan was absorbing information unusually fast, and
developing a passion for Windows as well.
In no time, the boy wonder picked up the basics of
both hardware and software operation, installation, and
However, a roadblock in Ayan’s IT development
path appeared when overseers of Microsoft Certified
Professional tests at Birmingham City University initially
refused to allow the young boy to take the exam.
They thought he couldn’t handle it, but once
Microsoft gave its blessing, there was no stopping little
Ayan. Though the evaluation included tricky multiplechoice,
drag-and-drop, hotspot, and scenario-based
questions, Ayan solved them all well under the two
hours that’s allotted to all test takers.
According to the the official Microsoft Certified
Professional program page, the certificate “validates IT
professional and developer technical expertise through
rigorous, industry-proven and industry-recognized
Clearly, earning this certification is no walk in the
park, especially for a youngster who should still be
learning basic math. As far as a future career path goes,
the BBC reports that Ayan has his eyes set on the tech
industry, unsurprisingly.
Among Ayan’s life goals are the creation of a British
Silicon Valley equivalent. E-Valley will be its name, and it
could be only a matter of time until we start hearing of
one or several start-ups founded by Ayan Qureshi.
And to think that this writer was proud of being able
to read his first fairy tale on his own at the age of five.
Goodbye self esteem, we hardly knew you.
