Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship
First place winners for Microsoft and Adobe World Championship (left to right): Gabriel Stacie from Romania, Ondrej Cach from the Czech Republic, Rohan Matthias Vargas from Ireland, Selma Sanchez from USA (Adobe), Duy Phong Nguyen from Vietnam, Cong Minh Bui from Vietnam, Tristan Pesqueira from USA on Wednesday, July 27, 2022 in Anaheim, Calif. (Lauren Justice/AP Images for Pearson)
SALT LAKE CITY, July 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The winners of the 2022 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) and the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship have been announced by Certiport, the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners.
In its 20th year, the Microsoft Office Specialist competition attracted more than one million contestants from around the world. Students, ages 13 to 22, competed with peers to prove their superior skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, culminating in the most popular technology skills competition on Microsoft Office—and the only one endorsed by Microsoft since its inception in 2002.
To enter the competition, students took a qualifying Microsoft Office Specialist certification exam to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office technology. Regional competitions were held worldwide, and 95 finalists qualified to compete in the final round of competition held in Anaheim, CA from July 24-27.
The 2022 MOS World Champions are:
Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
- First place: Gabriel Stanciu, Romania
- Second place: Trong Khai Nguyen, Vietnam
- Third place: Chen Yuen Wong, Hong Kong
Microsoft PowerPoint® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
- First place: Tristan Pesqueira, USA
- Second place: Mihail Iliev, Bulgaria
- Third place: Himanish Angrish, Canada
Microsoft Excel® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)
- First place: Duy Phong Nguyen, Vietnam
- Second place: Nikolaos Rapanis, Greece
- Third place: Heero Ramadhana Sipayung, Indonesia
Microsoft Word (Office 2016)
- First place: Rohan Matthias Vargas, Ireland
- Second place: Ching Chi Tsao, Taiwan
- Third place: Ngoc Tung Chi Dao, Vietnam
Microsoft PowerPoint® (Office 2016)
- First place: Cong Minh Bui, Vietnam
- Second place: Benjamin Rands, USA
- Third place: Amanda Gabriela Castillo Diaz, Mexico
Microsoft Excel® (Office 2016)
- First place: Ondrej Cach, Czech Republic
- Second place: Andrew Chuang Saladin, USA
- Third place: Nicolas Stigler Yanez, Peru
In the concluding round, competitors participated in a two-part skills demonstration. The first skills demonstration was a 30-minute timed exam. The second part is an advanced three-hour research project, in which students research their given topic, formulate an opinion, and represent their conclusions and research in an asset appropriate to the competition application (Word report, Excel workbook, or PowerPoint presentation). This is the second year where finalists were required to complete a free-form project.
At the final event in Anaheim, Certiport and Microsoft recognized the top student competitors in the MOS World Championship Awards Ceremony and presented each First place winner with a $7,000 cash prize, Second place with $3,500 and Third place with $1,500.
“The pandemic put our live MOS Championship events on hold. We are so thrilled to be able to return to in-person competitions,” said Ray Murray, Vice President and General Manager, Certiport. “It is inspiring to see students from 21 countries come together to ‘speak Microsoft’. The winners receive extra praise, but every single student who entered has earned a valuable workforce credential that will help them find success in college and in their career. The last two years have highlighted the importance of IT skills for tomorrow’s professionals and it’s incredible to see so many young people get introduced to IT certifications through the MOS World Championship.”
Microsoft Office Specialist is the only official Microsoft-recognized certification for Microsoft Office globally and serves as a powerful instrument for assessing students’ skills and preparing them for real-world application of their knowledge.
“The Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship is one of our favorite events annually, because these students are thrilled to compete and they inspire all of us with their competitive spirit and crowning achievement,” said Rick Herrmann, Vice President Worldwide Public Sector, Education, Microsoft. “These students work diligently to earn valuable industry-recognized certifications, and we know that the future is bright with upcoming business and technology leaders like those we met at the MOS World Championship.”
In its 9th year, the Adobe Certified Professional competition attracted more than 238,000 contestants from around the world to prove their superior digital communications skills using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Salma Sanchez from the United States won the top prize out of 22 finalists who came together for the final round of the global competition from July 24-27.
The 2022 Adobe Certified Professional World Champions are as follows:
- First place, Salma Sanchez, USA
- Second place, Manoela Campos, Brazil
- Third place, Keavey Gamwell, United Kingdom
- Fourth place, Xixillia Sunaryo, Indonesia
- Fifth place, Kalin Chervenkov, Bulgaria
Finalists demonstrated their proficiency using industry-leading Adobe Creative Cloud software to design a poster in eight hours for The Ocean Agency, an NGO dedicated to using creativity, technology, and powerful partnerships to raise the awareness and support necessary to help fast-track ocean conservation action.
“All of the entries demonstrated a clear aptitude for design, and an incredible artistic flair,” said Richard Vevers, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Agency. “We were really impressed by the professional-level work these students accomplished in just eight hours – which proves they can follow client instructions and use both their innate design abilities and the Adobe skills they’ve learned in school to create something amazing and industry-ready.”
A panel of judges including The Ocean Agency and design industry experts reviewed the final projects and determined the winners based on visual appeal, their ability to meet the client’s requirements and brand aesthetics, as well as their professional use of Adobe Creative Cloud applications. The First-place winner received $7,000, Second $3,500, and Third $1,500.
“If there’s one thing that the pandemic has shown us, it’s that creativity is needed now more than ever. These creative students have demonstrated an astounding level of talent in the Adobe Championship,” said Ray Murray, Vice President and General Manager, Certiport. “Seeing what these finalists are able to create in just eight hours, it’s apparent that they have a deep understanding of digital design concepts and can leverage their Adobe skills to in a real-world work scenario.”
“We enjoy participating in the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship every year, not only to see the wonderful projects created, but also to connect with ambitious, creative students who are launching their careers with industry-recognized certifications,” said Tacy Trowbridge, Global Education Programs Lead at Adobe. “Seeing what the competitors produced for The Ocean Agency gives us just a taste of their talent. Over the years we’ve watched many of these finalists go on to jobs and internships in creative fields, proving the value of design and technical skills that they learned in the classroom.”
Next year, Certiport will host the 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist and the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship at Orlando, Florida, from July 30-August 2, 2023.
You can learn more about the MOS World Championship here.
Learn more about Certiport’s Adobe Certified Professional World Championship here.
About Certiport
Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, is the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and program management services delivered through an expansive network of over 15,000 Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide. Certiport manages a sophisticated portfolio of leading certification programs including: the official Microsoft Office Specialist certification program, the Microsoft Certified Fundamentals certification program, the Microsoft Certified Educator program, the Adobe® Certified Professional certification program, the Autodesk Certified User certification program, the Intuit certification program, the App Development with Swift certification program, the Unity Certified User certification program, the Communication Skills for Business certification program, the IC3 Digital Literacy certification, and the Entrepreneurship and Small Business certification program. Certiport reliably delivers over three million tests each year throughout the secondary, post-secondary, workforce, and corporate technology markets in 148 countries and 26 languages worldwide. For more information visit www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on Twitter at www.twitter.com/certiport.
“Certiport” is a registered trademark of NCS Pearson, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Press Contact:
Greg Forbes (based in UK) greg.forbes@pearson.com
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