Portuguese Proficiency, a Reality at CENLEX UST with Celpe-Bras Certification

Editorial Staff / Photos: CENLEX UST

Strengthening internationalization: students receive their Portuguese language proficiency certificates in a formal ceremony.

The internationalization of the IPN academic community continues to advance. On June 12, 2025, the Centro de Lenguas Extranjeras Santo Tomás Unit (CENLEX UST) hosted a certification ceremony for candidates who successfully passed the Celpe-Bras Portuguese language proficiency exam during its first edition of the year.

Silvia Blanco Vázquez, Head of the Foreign Language Training Directorate at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), and Agustín Domínguez Flores, Director of CENLEX UST, personally presented the certificates to successful candidates, encouraging them to continue developing their language skills—an asset that will enrich both their professional and personal lives.

The ceremony highlighted that the certificates issued correspond to four different proficiency levels—intermediate, upper-intermediate, advanced, and superior advanced—based on the candidates’ performance. Each level officially validates the candidates’ listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills in Portuguese, by the standards set by the Brazilian Ministry of Education.

Celpe-Bras (Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Foreigners) is the only official Portuguese language certification recognized by the Brazilian government. It holds international validity in both academic and professional contexts.

During the event, IPN reaffirmed its commitment to offering formal language evaluation opportunities that foster academic mobility, international employability, and certified communication skills in multiple languages.

The Foreign Language Training Directorate, through CENLEX UST, will continue to promote future Celpe-Bras exam dates so that interested members of the IPN community may certify their Portuguese language proficiency—further demonstrating IPN’s commitment to internationalization and the comprehensive education of its students.