Mumbai, 30th May 2013: Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. today joined forces with Viva Group of Institutions to help increase student employability through its education resource program, Ed-vantage. The program provides a platform for corporate houses to hire high-caliber Microsoft Technology Certified Students from colleges for internship and employment. Ed-vantage allows for the facilitation of industry connections for eligible students.

Viva Group of Institutions, a pioneer in industry-embedded education, is Microsoft?s first Ed-vantage PLATINUM Campus in the state of Maharashtra. Viva Group of Institutions has passed stringent qualifying criteria to qualify for this prestigious association. Building on their illustrious record of accomplishment in helping students understand and prepare for future challenges, the Group has taken their ability to deliver industry ready human resources to the next level by partnering with Microsoft as an exclusive Ed-vantage PLATINUM campus.

Emphasizing the importance of this initiative along with Viva Group of Institutions in furthering student employability, Mr. Sanket Akerkar, MD, Microsoft India, along with Mr. Raj Katari, Director Geo Expansion, and Mr. Vaibhav Srivastava, from Microsoft, was present at the sprawling Viva Group Of Institutions campus to personally launch and handover the Ed-vantage PLATINUM Campus Certification to Mr. Hitendra Thakur, Chairman, Viva Group, and Mr. Shashank Patil, Member, Managing Committee.

In another first for this region, Microsoft will also collaborate with Viva Group of Institutions to host a Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC), a state-of-the-art technology facility for innovative research, technology, and software solutions. This will be achieved through a combination of academic, government, and industry participants. http://www.microsoft.com/mic/default.aspx.

Under the Ed-vantage collaborative model, Microsoft India endeavors to provide the right platform to enable institutes across India to rise to their true potential by bringing in more technology innovation, capacity building for faculty and students, and making students more employable. The program will engage leading corporates houses that will benefit from access to fresh high-caliber talent certified through the latest Microsoft technologies.

Commenting on this partnership, Sanket Akerkar, Managing Director, Microsoft India said, ?The Viva Group of Institutions has been a trendsetter in industry relevant education, and we are pleased to partner with them as the first Microsoft Ed-vantage Platinum Campus in Maharashtra. We are excited about the possibilities this partnership offers students in this region to acquire the right skills and become more employable. Along with globally recognized Microsoft certifications, we can foster connections with corporations and employers and provide students a great platform to enhance their career opportunities?.

Mr. Shikhar Thakur - Head of Future Initiatives, Viva Group of Institutions stated, ?It is a matter of joy and pride for Viva Group of Institutions to partner with Microsoft Corporation, a leader in software across the world. Microsoft Ed-Vantage is a much-needed education resource program in the Indian context. We believe this association will create a new breed of well-equipped, young technology experts in India and take opportunities such as internships and employment to a whole new level.?

SINGAPORE ? Branded Ltd. today announced the return of the award-winning Digital & Music Matters, and Music Matters Live from 20th to 24th May 2013 in Singapore, with brand-new exciting firsts for Asia ? the YouTube FanFest with HP and a full-day HP Music Academy mentoring workshops to help today?s budding artists. For the first time, Digital & Music Matters will also be streamed ?live? via the www.allthatmatters.asia website, giving industry players a chance to be part of the conference virtually from anywhere in the world. Altogether, the online audience can look forward to nearly 50 hours of ?live? broadcast across YouTube FanFest with HP, Digital & Music Matters and Music Mattes Live.

Digital & Music Matters 2012 brought together more than 1,200 attendees from close to 400 companies across 30 countries. Hosted at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore, this year?s conference continues to discuss the latest breakthroughs in the world of music and digital entertainment, coupled with high-level discussions on the challenges and solutions facing today?s entertainment companies.

Digital Matters presented by Windows Azure held in association with Movideo and CASBAA, will kick off the exciting week of conferences on 21st May 2013 and provide a platform for digital entertainment businesses to address the latest solutions to content monetisation. Attendees can look forward to industry insights from top executives from Microsoft, Starhub, Google Asia Pacific, Omnifone, M&C Saatchi and more.

?Globally, almost one-third of online consumer data consumption is attributed to video content, and Asia is at the epicenter of that content explosion. Get into the heat of the action at Digital Matters, where visitors will find out how the latest technologies like cloud computing and big data solutions are enabling consumers around the world to watch what they want, when they want, no matter what device they are using,? said Taras Bugir, Worldwide Managing Director of Media & Cable at Microsoft.

For the first time, this year?s delegates will also get the chance to network with today?s rising YouTube stars through the first-ever YouTube FanFest with HP (from 20th to 21st May) to complement the conference.

Featuring a roster of 18 established and breakout global sensations with a combined subscriber base of 12.5 million and over 3.8 billion views, the two-night YouTube FanFest with HP showcase will include ?live? performances and ?live? debuts of new content makers from the United States, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and more, as well as interactive meet and greet sessions between stars and fans.

Fans who missed the chance to join YouTube FanFest need not fret as they can watch the performances online, which will be streamed ?live? on the YouTube FanFest website (www.youtubefanfest.com) and stars such as Little Boots, GAC, Boyce Avenue, David Choi and Joseph Vincent will also be making their first-ever appearance at Music Matters Live, the three-night music festival held in Clarke Quay in conjunction with the Music Matters conference.

Music Matters, held from 22nd to 23rd May, is a pioneering industry event in the Asia-Pacific region bringing together key players in the global music industry. This year?s programme features more artist showcases while zooming in on the latest in music streaming; global trends in the music industry; monetising content through the entire digital platform value chain and more.

Music Matters attendees can look forward to industry insights from artist manager keynote by Johnny Wright, manager of Justin Timberlake (who managed stars such as Janet Jackson, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and Britney Spears); a keynote performance by Gurrumul Yunupingu, triple-platinum selling artist who has been described by Rolling Stone magazine as ?Australia?s Most Important Voice?; and performances by Myanmar?s first all-girl, all-singing and all-dancing band, the Me N Ma Girls; Little Boots, Boyce Avenue, and more.

This edition of Music Matters launches the first HP Music Matters Academy, a formalised two-day mentoring programme that connects international music and entertainment industry leaders with today?s budding artists.

A total of 100 passes worth US$100,000 were donated by Music Matters to the local arts community comprising members of the one-year-old Singapore Music Society (SG MUSO), who will meet and learn from industry experts who are attending Music Matters 2013. In addition, e2i have part-funded an additional 50 musicians to attend the Academy.

Academy attendees can look forward to hands-on workshops with industry experts such as Seymour Stein (President, Sire Records), Dan Teree (President and COO Ticketfly) and Nick O?Bryne (General Manager, Australian Independent Record Labels Association) to learn more about effectively marketing themselves in today?s crowded digital and music space.

?We want to help grow the Singapore digital entertainment industry and provide a platform for breakout acts to learn more from our fantastic cast of international music and entertainment leaders and given the opportunity to perform for the international audience gathered here,? said Jasper Donat, CEO of Branded Ltd. and President of Digital & Music Matters.

The grand finale to round off the week that matters is Music Matters Live powered by HP, a ?live? music showcase featuring 52 acts from 18 countries across six venues in Clarke Quay. This year?s exciting line-up includes three brand-new country showcases from Singapore, Japan and Taiwan to complement the staple line-up from Australia, Canada and Korea.

Featuring acclaimed electronic artist Little Boots, award-winning folk singer Gurrumul, indie pop meisters Club Scouts, Eurovision runner-up Prata Vetra and local art rock band The Observatory, this year promises to be a diverse musical event unlike any other.

Music Matters Live powered by HP will be streamed ?live? via YouTube ( so audiences from around the globe can tune in to discover the latest breakout artists. Students from Singapore Polytechnic?s Diploma in Visual Effects and Motion Graphics programme will be producing the ?live? streaming show from the Fountain Square main stage and given the hands-on opportunity to produce the graphics packages, filming and editing show inserts, as well as shooting and mixing the ?live? broadcast of the performances.

?As the first-ever Asian music festival to be streamed ?live? via YouTube, our students from Singapore Polytechnic will have a rare and important chance to learn from the best in the digital entertainment industry. This could be the first ?live? streaming experience they will ever have,? added Jasper.

Digital & Music Matters is proudly supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, Media Development Authority of Singapore, and Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. Other key sponsors on board for 2013 are: 88tc88, Accenture, Akamai, AsiaWorld-Expo, Barks, Believe Digital, Audio Network, BMI, Brightcove, CIMA, Channel [V], Eon & Asia Pop 40, Fender, Fox, Google/ YouTube, Gracenote, HP, ICON, Invest HK, Images in Motion, KOCCA, Windows Azure, Movideo, MPAJ, Omnifone, Pacific Beverages, Samsung, Singapore Grand Prix, Sounds Australia and the Singapore National Arts Council.

Mumbai: Encompass, India?s leading experiential marketing agency that offers integrated solutions to the most admired brands in India won 10 metals at the recently concluded WOW awards here in Mumbai.

Encompass, took home 3 Golds, 4 Silvers and 3 Bronzes for their stellar work on their brands P&G, HSBC, Microsoft, Airtel, Petrotech and Radio Mirchi to name a few.

?We have the most diversified win across categories. The awards recognize our work across Brand Activation, Best Convention, Brand Connect, Education Tours, and Best Launch event for our clients?, says Roshan Abbas, Managing Director, Encompass.

WOW Awards is the industry benchmark for excellence in brand experience creation. It is a platform established to acknowledge the rising importance of the Live brand experiences industry. The 2012 edition of WOW Awards saw 784 entries in 27 categories ranging from WOW Promos to WOW MICE, WOW LIVE, WOW Media and new additions such as Brand Experience of the Year and Integrated Marketing Campaign of the Year.

The WOW Awards Jury consists of marketers from varied sectors; chairing the jury this year, was Anisha Motwani, Director and Chief Marketing Officer, Max Life Insurance.