SINGAPORE : A 28-year-old Singaporean systems administrator has emerged as the grand-prize winner of the first Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) Hall of Fame - an initiative by Windows IT Pro, an IT publisher based in the United States - and Microsoft.

Mr Adam Chee, who works at the Diagnostic Imaging department at KK Women's & Children's Hospital, won a three-day trip to Redmond, Washington, for a visit with Microsoft executives.

The contest, which comprised six monthly rounds, ended in June last year. MCPs can nominate themselves or others for the contest.

The top five entries per month were picked by a panel that included employees from Windows IT Pro and Microsoft.

The entries were posted on the Windows IT Pro website, where visitors could vote for their favourite candidate.

The winner of each round moved on to the final, where one grand-prize winner was selected out of six through popular vote in October last year.

Mr Chee was the winner of the fourth round in April. For that, he received a VIP subscription to Windows IT Pro products.

The judges looked at various factors in selecting a monthly winner, including the number and type of Microsoft certifications, the number of years the person had been in IT, job duties and the person's involvement in the larger IT community.

Mr Chee holds four Microsoft certifications - Microsoft Certified Professional, Microsoft Certified System Administrator, Microsoft Certified System Engineer and Microsoft Certified Database Administrator.

In addition, he has eight years of experience as an IT professional and is involved with the IT community through technical article contributions to websites. - TODAY