ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE / Knowledge Bylanes) -- Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, today announces that the winners of the 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist and Adobe Certified Professional National Championships.

2023 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) World Championship

The winners of the 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) World Championship have been announced by Certiport, the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners.

The annual competition challenges students from ages 13 through 22 to prove their skills in Microsoft Word, Excel®, and PowerPoint®. Now in its 21st year, this year’s competition – the only one endorsed by Microsoft since its inception in 2002 – attracted more than 1.3 million entries from around the world.

To enter, students took a qualifying Microsoft Office Specialist certification exam to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office technology. Regional competitions were held worldwide, and 133 finalists qualified to compete in the final round of competition held in Orlando, Florida from July 31 – August 2, 2023.

The 2023 MOS World Champions are:

Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)

First place: Chan Wai Wong, Macau, China
Second place: Cheng-Yan Wu, Taiwan
Third place: Thuy Linh Hoang, Vietnam

Microsoft PowerPoint® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)

First place: Lucie DorňákováCert, Czech Republic
Second place: Ana Guo, Macau, China
Third place: Ching-Chi Tsao, Taiwan

Microsoft Excel® (Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019)

First place: Yuxiang Lin, Macau, China
Second place: Jamie Kildea, Ireland
Third place: Songglod Petchamras, Thailand

Microsoft Word (Office 2016)

First place: Bing-Hong Chen, Taiwan
Second place: Chi Kuan Tan, Macau, China
Third place: Thi Minh Anh Dang, Vietnam

Microsoft PowerPoint® (Office 2016)

First place: Man-Him Law, Hong Kong, China
Second place: Noppanat Chalouy, Thailand
Third place: Celia Cole, USA

Microsoft Excel® (Office 2016)

First place: Sora Takaya, Japan
Second place: Thi Thanh Truc Nguyen, Vietnam
Third place: O-Man Wong, Hong Kong, China

In the concluding round, competitors participated in a 100-minute exam that tested their knowledge, application skills, and creative talents. For the second consecutive year, finalists were required to complete a free-form project. This year’s challenge asked competitors to create an informational document for a non-profit client.

At the final event in Florida, Certiport and Microsoft recognized the top student competitors in the MOS World Championship Awards Ceremony and presented each First-place winner with an $8,000 cash prize. The Second-place and Third-place honorees received $4,000 and $2,000, respectively.

“This year marks 21 years since the Microsoft Office Specialist competition began in 2002. We are exceptionally proud of what we have managed to achieve, through our partners around the world, in providing young people with a platform such as this to learn, compete, and gain valuable skills that will help them in their future careers,” said Craig Bushman, General Manager, Certiport.

Microsoft Office Specialist is the only official Microsoft-recognized certification for Microsoft Office globally and serves as a powerful instrument for assessing learners’ skills and preparing them for real-world application of their knowledge.

“For over two decades, the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship has recognized the top students using Microsoft Office from across the globe. These students are passionate and dedicated learners who have the skills and competitive drive to succeed. At Microsoft, we know this experience will prepare students to demonstrate their valued digital skills in a real-world work environment,” said Christian Wylde, Principal Group Manager, Microsoft Worldwide Learning.

2023 Adobe Certified Professional World Championship

Certiport has named the USA as the 2023 Adobe Certified Professional World Champion. Second place goes to Bulgaria and Third place to Brazil in a digital design competition that attracted nearly 54,000 competitors.

The winners of the 2023 Certiport’s 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.

The annual competition challenges contestants from around the world to prove their superior digital design skills using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Now in its 10th year, this year’s competition attracted more than 53,000 participants. Kayla Crossen-Zawila from the USA won the top prize out of 44 finalists who came together from July 31 – August 2, 2023, for the final round.

The 2023 Adobe Certified Professional World Champions are as follows:

First place, Kayla Crossen-Zawila, USA
Second place, Boris Savov, Bulgaria
Third place, Egberto Oliveira, Brazil
Fourth place, Mariam Baghaturia, Georgia
Fifth place, Marco Antonio Arguello Jarrin, Ecuador
Sixth place, Andrew Jarnac, USA
Seventh place, Muhammad Abal Hakim Bin Abal Mukam, Malaysia
Eighth place, Minh Tra Bui, Vietnam
Ninth place, Alexia Borcoman, United Kingdom
Tenth place, Sio Kuan Lei, Macau, China

Finalists demonstrated their proficiency using industry-leading Adobe Creative Cloud software to design a poster for a real-world client, the International Rescue Committee (IRC), in less than eight hours.

“At the IRC, we were thrilled to partner with Certiport and Adobe for Certiport’s 2023 Adobe Certified Professional World Championship. This event has given us an opportunity to engage young people in our mission to help people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. We were really impressed by the professional level work these students accomplished in just eight hours and can’t wait to use them as inspiration for future campaigns,” said Vera Leung, Senior Director of Content & Creative, International Rescue Committee.

A panel of judges including representatives from IRC 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 an $8,000 cash prize. The Second-place and Third-place honorees received $4,000 and $2,000, respectively.

“Together with our partner, Adobe, we are exceptionally proud of the opportunities we have managed to provide to all the contestants and winners over the last decade. Through this unique platform we have and will continue to provide young people with a chance to learn, compete, and gain valuable skills that will help them in their future careers,” said Craig Bushman, 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 will be able to leverage their Adobe skills in a real-world work scenario.”

“At Adobe, we know the future belongs to those who create. Certiport’s Adobe Certified Professional World Championship is a wonderful opportunity for students from around the world to come together to create using Adobe Creative Cloud,” said Liana Maharaj-Parrish, Head of Student Learning and Certification, Adobe. “These students have technical mastery and wonderful artistic instincts, and it shows in their final designs. They can follow client instructions and use both their innate design abilities and the Adobe skills they’ve learned to create something amazing and industry-ready. We can’t wait to see where our competitors take their skills next.”

Next year, Certiport will host the 2024 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship and the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship in Anaheim, California, from July 28 through 31.

Learn more about the MOS World Championship here.
Learn more about the Adobe Certified Professional World Championship here.

See what our competitors and other news outlets are saying by searching the event hashtag #MOSWC on social media.

Media Contact:
Greg Forbes
Global PR & Communications Manager
+44 (0) 7824 313448
[email protected]


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