The 2012 Certiport Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office attracted more than 285,000 unique candidates from 53 countries who competed to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office products. 113 student finalists participated in the final round of competition.

The top 10 Microsoft Excel 2007 finalists were Eduardo Velarde, Cho Ye-Eun of South Korea, Alessandro Fornaroli of Italy, Xu GuangYuan of China, Xie Zhong-Xing of Taiwan, Daniel Lara Moir of Guatemala, Panatda Bunmanan of Thailand, Gabriela Tavera of United States, Aníbal Steinmetz of Chile, and Fernando Hidalgo of Ecuador.

Certiport recognized Eduardo Velarde Polar at the Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office Student Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas, and presented him with a $5,000 scholarship.

“With more than a half a million exam uploads this year, the growing popularity of the Microsoft Office competition reflects the desire for students to master these key productivity skills worldwide,” said Lutz Ziob, General Manager of Microsoft Learning, Microsoft Corp.
“The winners have studied and become experts in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint, and now they can apply those skills as they further their academic careers and enter the workforce. Knowing industry-leading Microsoft programs inside and out will help them be more productive and I believe it will be a shining star on their resume for the rest of their life.”

In the concluding round, competitors participated in timed, unique tests to demonstrate their ability to create spreadsheets for the information presented in Microsoft Excel.

“In its 11th year, the Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office has seen a 58 percent increase in the number of participants compared to last year, and students worldwide are excited about this competition,” said Ray Kelly, CEO, Certiport.

“More than 3 million individuals have now taken a Microsoft Office Specialist exam to validate their skills, so these winners are truly the best of the best. They will hold the title of “World Champion” forever, a valuable asset as they continue their academic and professional careers.”

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