Announcing the Microsoft AI Skills Fest: Save the date!
*Updated as of March 28, 2025 The best way to learn something new is by taking it one step at a time. We know all this talk of AI can be overwhelming, so how about we take it one skill at a time? At Microsoft, our mission has always been to create technology that empowers others to innovate and solve real-world problems. And it’s no different with AI—we want to help you learn to use this powerful technology to make your life easier, especially as it becomes an integral part of our daily lives. Sometimes, starting is the hardest part, so we want to make that part simple for you. This is why we’re excited to announce the Microsoft AI Skills Fest, a global event this April and May, designed to bring learners across the globe together to build their AI skills, from beginner explorers to the technologically gifted. Together, we can learn a new AI skill and maybe even set a groundbreaking record at the same time! Everyone everywhere is invited The AI Skills Fest is designed with you in mind, offering a wide variety of AI training for everyone, regardless of background or expertise. Join us to build your AI skills and unlock new opportunities for productivity, innovation, and growth. Tech professionals. Learn how to quickly build AI-powered solutions using Microsoft's AI apps and services. Gain skills and experience working with agents, AI security, Azure AI Foundry, GitHub Copilot, Microsoft Fabric, and more. Business professionals. Find out how much easier your work life can be when you use Microsoft Copilot to simplify tasks and let your creativity loose! Students. Explore technical skills to bring your ideas to life, with AI learning experiences for all skill levels and interests. Business leaders. Empower your teams with AI skills for future success through curated upskilling opportunities. Let’s earn a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title together on April 8, 2025! The Microsoft AI Skills Fest will begin with a spectacular Kickoff Celebration on April 8, 2025. Starting in Australia at 9 AM Australian Eastern Standard Time and wrapping up in the United States at 4 PM Pacific Daylight Time, this 24-hour, globe-spanning event will feature a variety of AI learning activities designed to engage and inspire learners of all experience levels. Together, we’ll have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attempt a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for most users to take an online multi-level artificial intelligence lesson in 24 hours. Don’t miss this unique chance to learn, compete, and celebrate your achievements—and to be part of these unprecedented and record-setting global festivities. Check out the learning experiences we've prepared for this day. Mark your calendar and register now. Deepen your skills over 50 days of AI learning The celebration doesn't stop there! Following the kickoff, the AI Skills Fest will continue for 50 days— through May 28, 2025—offering a wide array of learning opportunities. Whether you're a tech professional, business leader, business professional, student, or AI enthusiast, there will be engaging and challenging training for you. Participate in hackathons, live in-person and virtual training, self-paced tutorials, on-demand training, community events, Microsoft Learn Challenges, and more. Mark your calendar for 50 days of AI discovery and learning. The countdown to make history together Save the date, attempt a world record, and get ready to unlock the future with 50 days of AI discovery and learning. Read all the details and register now. Now let’s get learning!You did it! We’re GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title holders
By Jeana Jorgensen, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Learning You did it! Thanks to you, our incredible community of learners, we’ve successfully earned the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most users to take an online multi-level artificial intelligence lesson in 24 hours, with a total of 126,151 participants. As a team, we earned this title during the global kickoff celebration for the Microsoft AI Skills Fest on April 8, 2025, with learners of all levels, ages, and geographies. Thank you for letting us learn and grow with you. This collective achievement is a testament to the power of community, commitment to learning, and spirit of innovation that drives us all. The record is a tribute to every person who is investing their time and energy to learn a new AI skill or help others build their AI expertise. Thank you for joining us We’re so honored that you joined us for this global learning adventure. It’s truly inspiring to witness the impact of such dedication. Check out the highlights of the ceremony where Michael Empric, Guinness World Records Adjudicator, officially revealed the record. Highlights of the ceremony where the record attempt results were revealed. Showcase your achievement! Congratulations to everyone who took part in the Microsoft AI Skills Fest kickoff celebration on April 8, 2025. With your confirmed participation, you’ll receive an email, starting on May 1, 2025, with information on how to download the badge that verifies your participation in this exciting event. For any issues with your badge, review the AI Skills Fest Frequently Asked Questions. And remember to share your new record-setter status with your friends, colleagues, and network on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and X. Continue to build your AI skills This achievement is just the beginning. The AI Skills Fest continues through May 28, 2025, and offers even more opportunities for you to add to your AI expertise. You can still join the AI Skills Fest Challenge—10 expertly curated topics, like simplifying everyday tasks, crafting effective prompts, creating AI-powered applications, developing AI chat apps, and using AI to secure your data. Regardless of your role, experience level, or specific AI interest, there’s something for everyone. For more details on the many learning experiences still available to you in the ongoing AI Skills Fest, read Continue deepening your AI skills. Thank you again to all the learners, trainers, and partners who made earning this GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title possible. We’re excited to keep learning with you—one skill at a time. Keep up your momentum, explore the festival map, and make the most of the AI Skills Fest opportunities.Powering career and business growth through AI-led, human-enhanced skilling experiences
Every day, it seems like there’s a new AI tool making headlines. In fact, this year alone, thousands of new AI-powered apps and platforms have launched—reshaping how we work, create, and solve problems. Instead of tech that demands more attention, we’re focused on AI that helps you make better decisions and gives you the skills to grow your career and your business. Work Change Report: AI is Coming to Work. January 2025. All this innovation makes one thing clear: evolving your skills at the pace businesses expect is essential—and really challenging. With over 3.6[1] billion people in the global workforce, organizations and individuals everywhere are grappling with the same question: How do we keep pace with AI? It’s not just a technical challenge—it’s a human one. With the steady stream of new courses, articles, and videos, finding exactly what you need—in the right format, with the right depth, and ready to share with your team—can feel overwhelming. We’ve heard from business leaders, developers, and employees alike: you want learning that’s relevant to your roles and projects, easily accessible, and short enough to fit into your busy day. That’s why we’re committed to deliver clear, role-based skilling paths and AI-led, human-enhanced skilling in a unified and accessible way—so teams can adopt AI faster and lead with confidence. Introducing AI Skills Navigator Today, at Microsoft Ignite, we’re releasing the next-generation AI Skills Navigator—an agentic learning space, bringing together AI-powered skilling experiences and credentials that help individuals build career skills and organizations worldwide accelerate their business. This is a smarter, more personalized way to build both technology skills and the uniquely human skills required to set yourself apart in an AI-dominated workplace. A single, unified experience: Build and verify your skills with AI and cloud content and credentials from Microsoft, LinkedIn Learning, and GitHub—all in one spot. Personalized recommendations: Get learning content curated just for you—based on your role, goals, and learning style, whether you prefer videos, guides, or hands-on labs. Innovative learning experiences: Immerse yourself in interactive skilling sessions—videos of human instructors, combined with real-time agentic AI coaching. Watch, engage, and understand concepts more deeply, like you would in a live classroom. Learn the way you like: Prefer to listen? Instantly convert skilling materials into AI-generated podcasts to fit learning effortlessly into your day. Custom, shareable skilling playlists: Use AI to build tailored learning paths that you can easily assign to your team or share with your friends—and track their progress—turning upskilling into a collaborative social experience. & Digital Skills, Vodafone. AI Skills Navigator is now available to everyone around the world as a public preview! For now, all features are in English, but stay tuned—we’re working quickly to add more features and languages, so you can keep growing your skills—wherever you are. Showcasing expertise in action Learning new skills is important. Proving to employers that you have them is just as critical. That’s why we’re expanding Microsoft Credentials—trusted for over 30 years—to help you verify your real-world skills in AI, cloud, and security. Whether you’re looking to stand out in your career or find the right employee to build out your team, our credentials are here to help highlight and verify great talent. Gartner Unveils Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users in 2026 and Beyond (press release). October 21, 2025. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Here’s how we’re evolving Microsoft Credentials: New AI credentials for business professionals, leaders, and early-career talent. More technical credentials focused on secure, scalable AI solutions. Flexible, short-form training content and skills validation for busy schedules. Unlocking human potential with strategic partnerships We know that building AI skills is a team effort. That’s why we’re partnering with leaders like LinkedIn, GitHub, and Pearson to bring you even more ways to learn and grow. Together, we’re making sure you have the resources and support you need—no matter your industry or role. LinkedIn and Microsoft are working together to set a new global standard for AI upskilling. With AI Skills Navigator, you find curated LinkedIn Learning courses that blend essential human and AI skills for every business and technical role. Whether you’re in marketing, finance, HR, operations, or IT, discover practical training that helps you stay ahead. This is just the beginning. We’ll continue to bring you more learning that helps you build professional and leadership skills. GitHub and Microsoft are making it even easier for developers to grow and shine in the AI era. By joining forces within AI Skills Navigator, we’re opening the door for over 100 million developers worldwide to build, prove, and keep expanding their AI skills. Our ongoing partnership is all about nurturing a vibrant developer community that is ready to innovate and keep pace with the fast-changing world of AI. Pearson and Microsoft are teaming up to make it easier than ever to earn and showcase your skills. Credly by Pearson enables professionals to validate their knowledge and gain recognition for their expertise through globally recognized digital credentials. With over 120 million credentials issued and rapid growth in areas like AI, Azure, and cybersecurity, this partnership will empower people to develop in-demand skills and advance their careers. This capability is coming soon. When it’s launched, all Microsoft Credentials will be published to Credly, giving learners a seamless way to earn, manage, and share their achievements. As these exciting partnerships continue to grow, we’re grateful for our Training Services Partners and their long-standing expertise in professional skilling—tailored, human-led training that helps people and organizations everywhere achieve real, impactful results. Helping build careers and businesses, one skill at a time AI combined with your ambition creates a future of tremendous opportunity for you. The hardest part is knowing where to start and direct your focus as the world moves so quickly around us. This is where we can help—whether you’re just getting started or you’re already far along the AI learning path. Together, we’re building a world where everyone can grow, evolve, and lead with confidence. The real frontier isn’t about technology—it’s about what people like you can achieve with it. And we’re here to help you get there, one skill at a time. [1] The World Bank: Labor force, total. Data source: ILO, OECD, and World Bank estimates.
