Young, Certified, and Winners: Pearson's Certiport Announces 2025 Microsoft Office Specialist World Champions

Rhea-AI Summary

Pearson (NYSE:PSO) has announced the winners of the 2025 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) World Championship through its Certiport business. The competition, in its 23rd year, featured over 190 finalists aged 13-22 from around the world competing in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint categories.

Winners received substantial cash prizes, with first-place winners earning $8,000, second-place $4,000, and third-place $2,000. The competition included both Microsoft 365 Apps and Office 2019 categories, with winners representing countries including Vietnam, Greece, China, USA, and Lebanon. This year's challenge involved creating documents for Limbitless Solutions, a non-profit organization producing 3D printed bionic arms.

The 2026 championship will be held at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim, California, from July 26-29, 2026.

Positive

• Global reach demonstrated with winners from diverse countries
• Substantial prize money totaling $8,000 for first place winners
• Partnership with Limbitless Solutions adds real-world application value
• Competition continues to grow after 23 years, showing sustained success

Negative

• None.

ORLANDO, Fla., July 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pearson (FTSE: PSON.L) is proud to recognize the winners of the 2025 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) World Championship, announced by Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, and the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners.

Now in its 23^rd year, the annual competition challenges students from ages 13 through 22 around the world to demonstrate their skills in Microsoft Word, Excel^®, and PowerPoint^®.

To enter, students completed a qualifying MOS certification exam to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office technology. Regional competitions were held worldwide, and over 190 finalists qualified to compete in the final round of competition, the World Championship, held in Orlando, Florida, from July 27 – 30, 2025.

Certiport and Microsoft presented awards to the highest-ranking student competitors at the MOS World Championship Award Ceremony with the first-place winners receiving $8,000, and second- and third-place recipients receiving $4,000 and $2,000, respectively.

The 2025 MOS World Champions are:

Microsoft Word (Microsoft 365 Apps)

• First place: Hai Long Do, Vietnam
• Second place: Kyriaki Pesta, Greece
• Third place: Samantha Elizabeth Rojas Romero, Ecuador

Microsoft PowerPoint^® (Microsoft 365 Apps)

• First place: Eleni Karakasidou, Greece
• Second place: Sio Pui Lei, Macao, China
• Third place: Santiago Gabriel Higuera Rodríguez, Dominican Republic

Microsoft Excel^® (Microsoft 365 Apps)

• First place: In Iat Li, Macao, China
• Second place: Yiu Man Raymond Mak, Hong Kong, China
• Third place: Son Tung Luong, Vietnam

Microsoft Word (Office 2019)

• First place: Tony Jin, USA
• Second place: Ornella Corio, Brazil
• Third place: Gerardo Antonio Delgado Amaya, El Salvador

Microsoft PowerPoint^® (Office 2019)

• First place: Tsan Ying Wong, Macao, China
• Second place: Paula Cazco Chuquimarca, Ecuador
• Third place: Lucas Natal, Brazil

Microsoft Excel^® (Office 2019)

• First place: Maria Abi Khalil, Lebanon
• Second place: Xavier Diebold, USA
• Third place: Amelia Ortiz De Santiago, Puerto Rico

In the concluding round, competitors participated in an exam that tested their Microsoft Office knowledge, application skills, and creative talents. For the third consecutive year, finalists were required to complete a free-form challenge project. This year's challenge asked competitors to create a series of documents for Limbitless Solutions a non-profit organization creating 3D printed bionic arms for children and adults. 

"Partnering with Certiport at the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship has been an incredible opportunity for Limbitless Solutions," said Matt Dombrowski, Creative Director, Limbitless Solutions. "This year, student competitors are using Word, PowerPoint^®, and Excel^® to design real materials that share our story, from impactful presentations and training documents to clear and informative data visuals. It's inspiring to see these tools in the hands of students who care about making a difference. Their creativity and precision help bring our mission to life and expand awareness for children with limb differences around the world."

"This event marks 23 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 Dr Gary Gates, Managing Director, Pearson VUE.

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

"The Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship continues to inspire and challenge the next generation of global talent. These competitors are passionate and dedicated learners who have the skills and competitive drive to succeed in anything they do. At Microsoft, we know this experience will prepare students to demonstrate valuable digital skills in a real-world work environment," said Christina Thoresen, Director of Worldwide Education Industry Sales Strategy, Microsoft.

Certiport will host the 2026 MOS World Championship at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, Anaheim, California, from July 26-29, 2026.

Learn more about the MOS World Championship here.

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

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 13,000 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 Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) certification program, the Meta Certified Digital Marketing Associate certification program, the App Development with Swift certification program, the Project Management Institute Project Management Ready 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 29 languages worldwide. For more information visit www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on X 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.

About Limbitless Solutions:

Limbitless Solutions is a non-profit research facility at the University of Central Florida (UCF) dedicated to increasing accessibility and empowering children and adults in the limb-difference community. Through personalized, creative, and expressive bionics provided without financial burden, Limbitless empowers using innovative technology and interdisciplinary collaboration to address accessibility issues. Limbitless develops and evaluates muscle-based biosensing technology, including multi-gesture bionic arms, a hands-free wheelchair control device, and interacting video game training – all currently in national clinical trials. Limbitless accessibility technology uniquely leverages video game-based training that converts muscle flexing into the video game character's actions, led by UCF faculty members Matt Dombrowski with UCF's School of Visual Arts and Design and Peter Smith with UCF's Nicholson School of Communication and Media.

Founded in 2014 and located in UCF's Research Park in Orlando, Florida, Limbitless combines engineering and art to promote access and engagement in STEAM learning experiences for a more accessible future. Undergraduate students from various academic perspectives engage in project-based learning, professional development, and research experiences where students put academics into practice in an environment focused on making a difference and professional and technical development. Visit www.3DHope.com to learn more.

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SOURCE Pearson VUE

FAQ

Who won the 2025 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship?

Multiple winners were crowned across different categories. Notable first-place winners included Hai Long Do (Vietnam) for Word 365, Eleni Karakasidou (Greece) for PowerPoint 365, In Iat Li (Macao, China) for Excel 365, and Tony Jin (USA) for Word 2019.

How much prize money did winners receive at the 2025 MOS World Championship?

Winners received $8,000 for first place, $4,000 for second place, and $2,000 for third place.

Where will the 2026 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship be held?

The 2026 MOS World Championship will be held at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim, California, from July 26-29, 2026.

What was the special challenge in the 2025 MOS World Championship?

Competitors created documents for Limbitless Solutions, a non-profit organization that creates 3D printed bionic arms for children and adults.

How many finalists competed in the 2025 MOS World Championship?

Over 190 finalists from around the world qualified to compete in the final round in Orlando, Florida.