Microsoft Office Specialist qualifier begins hinh anh 1The 2018 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship qualifying competition for the southern region began in HCM City on Jan 20. (Photo: tienphong.vn)

HCM City (VNA) - The 2018 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship qualifying competition for the southern region began on January 20 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The annual competition for students aged 13 to 22 comprises three contests - Microsoft Office 2013, Microsoft Excel 2013 and Microsoft PowerPoint 2013.

It is organised by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union's Central Committee and IIG Vietnam, an organisation for testing and educational quality accreditation.

A total of 120 candidates from across the country will be chosen for the national championship.

Three winners at the national championship will go on to the World Championship in the US from July 29 to August 1 this year.

The first prize in the World Championship will be 7,000 USD, and the second and third prizes will be 3,500 USD and 1,500 USD, respectively.

The competition has been organised worldwide since 2002 and was first held in Vietnam in 2010.

Vietnam won third place in Microsoft Word 2013 at the World Championship last year.-VNA

VNA