Contents

1. DreamSpark Yatra Website (www.dreamsparkyatra.com): ................................................................. 2

2. Marketing Material ............................................................................................................................... 5
3. Typical Event Flow................................................................................................................................. 5
4. Technical Resources: ............................................................................................................................. 5
5. Imagine Cup @ Yatra: ........................................................................................................................... 5
6. Sponsor Activity: ................................................................................................................................... 5
7. Attendee Benefits: ................................................................................................................................ 5
8. PR Tips: .................................................................................................................................................. 6
9. Pre-Event Planning: ............................................................................................................................... 6
10. Post-event formalities:...................................................................................................................... 6
11. Event Expenses: ................................................................................................................................ 6
12. Frequently Asked Questions: ............................................................................................................ 7

Overview:
DreamSpark Yatra- over 100 events at 100 cities in 100 days.

Launched in February 2010, with an objective to spread awareness of industry-relevant tools and
technologies among students, DSY 2010 was a huge success thanks to the hard work, dedication and
enthusiasm of MSPs from India. More than 50,000 students attended DS Yatra events in their city or
neighboring cities for sessions, demos, etc. on Windows 7, Visual Studio 2010, Silverlight, Office 2010,
etc. along with loads of fun activities like Imagine Cup, Quizzes, etc.

Building on the success of DreamSpark Yatra 2010, we bring you DreamSpark Yatra 2011- an
opportunity to build on the success of last year, by conducting large-scale technology-oriented events in
your city. These events should typically be done in collaboration with one or more MSPs. Of course, if you
are the only MSP in your city, then our expectation would be that you conduct at least a small-scale event
on your own.

This is your opportunity to make a positive impact around you.

Together we can make it happen- 100 cities in 100 days!

This toolkit contains a set of resources that will help you plan, execute, & report back about your event.
Please go through the entire toolkit carefully, and if you still have any unanswered questions, write
ONLY to dsyatra@microsoft.com. Please do not send any DreamSpark Yatra related queries to
studpart@microsoft.com or newmsp@microsoft.com or msp-help@microsoft.com

Microsoft DreamSpark Yatra: Start the journey towards fulfilling your dreams!
1. DreamSpark Yatra Website (www.dreamsparkyatra.com):
The DS Yatra website is now live! Built entirely by a team of Microsoft Student Partners, this website will
be the primary portal for communication related to DS Yatra 2011.

What can you do on the website?

 Register your event and submit the event plan

Go through the steps below carefully to find out how to register and submit your event proposal.
 Go to http://www.dreamsparkyatra.com/msplogin/
 For First Time Users, click on Register to create a DSY account. (Use your @msptechrep.com
email ID, but ensure that you use a DIFFERENT password from your BPOS password.)

 After submitting your information, you will receive an automated confirmation email.
 Click on the link in the email to get your account validated.
 After logging in, you will be re-directed to the MSP Dashboard. Here you can add a new event
proposal or check approval status for previously submitted DSY proposals.

 After clicking on Propose a New DSY, you will be directed to the Event Proposal Page.
 Fill in all the required information. Please quote expected number of attendees as precisely as
possible when proposing a DSY. You can also add attachments as further additional details.
 If your city is not in the list, send an email to administrator@dreamsparkyatra.com
 After proceeding to the Add DSY Details Page, you can add details about individual sessions.
 Select the Speaker from the list or you can add your own speaker.
Note: Please add New Speakers in a proper manner. Do not add multiple speakers. If in case you have
made a mistake in the Speaker Details and added it, send an email to
administrator@dreamsparkyatra.com stating the changes needed.
 After adding speaker click on Submit Session Details (at the bottom of the page.)
 You can add the other sessions in the same manner by clicking Add a New Session.
 You can also a previously added session by clicking on the sign.
 After finalizing all the details click on Complete Session Details

 Give the location of your Yatra event using Bing Maps

You can pin point the location of your DS Yatra event using the DSY Map Page.
Just Click on the location and a Green Star will appear, this will mark the location.
 You can narrow down the place using the Address.
 Tick on the checkbox below the Map if your location is NOT exact.
 After finalizing the location, click Save.
 You will be re-directed to the MSP Dashboard. You can confirm your addition by checking your
event listed there.

You will receive an email after your event is approved or rejected or changes are needed.
Event Approvals are at the discretion of the MSP India Team.

 DS Yatra Forum http://dreamsparkyatra.com/forum

 MSP's can OPTIONALLY join the public Forum. MSPs will be assigned the Role of an MSP on
the forum only if they use the @msptechrep.com email ID. Ensure that you use a DIFFERENT
password from your BPOS password.
 A separate sub-forum (Internal Discussion Forum) for MSPs is also available for confidential
discussions between MSPs.
2. Marketing Material
DSY Marketing Material is available here: http://dreamsparkyatra.com/msplogin/
Sign in with your DSY account before you can access the resources.

3. Typical Event Flow

This year, we encourage you to do half-day events instead of full day events. This will help you
reduce costs & ensure that students don’t lose interest in the sessions. If you have the auditorium
and speakers available for the whole day, consider doing the event in shifts, each with a separate
audience. Your reimbursement slab will also change if you cover more number of unique students.

For example, if you have an auditorium that has a capacity of 500 and is available to you for the
whole day, you can cover 500 students in the first half and 500 in the second. Your reimbursement
slab in this case would be that of 1000, since you have covered 1000 people during the day.

Sample Agenda for 4 hours. This is only indicative and you can customize this in your event plan.
Topic Recommended
Duration
Opening Notes 10 minutes
Tech Session (e.g. Azure, WP7, IE9, WebMatrix) 1 hour
Tech Session (e.g. Office 2010, SQL Server 2008, Windows Server 2008) 1 hour
Tech Session (e.g. XNA Game Studio, Robotics Developer Studio, Expression 1 hour
Studio etc.)
Imagine Cup activity (like a quiz with audience interaction) 20 minutes
Sponsor Activity (if any) 20 minutes
Closing Notes 10 minutes

4. Technical Resources:
 Windows Phone: http://channel9.msdn.com/Learn/Courses/WP7TrainingKit
 Windows Azure: http://channel9.msdn.com/Learn/Courses/Azure
 Links to more technical resources will be provided before 31st January 2011.

5. Imagine Cup @ Yatra:

Conduct simple interactive activities like some of the examples given below:
 Short Tech Quiz
 Tech Crossword
 Coding competition (will need stages before the event)
 Graphic Design competition (will need stages before the event)
 Viral Video competition (will need stages before the event)

6. Sponsor Activity:
Consider looking for local sponsors. Sponsor-related activities can be conducted as long as it is for
less than 10% of the overall event duration. Before finalizing any agreements with sponsors, please
keep us informed and get the necessary email approval from us at dsyatra@microsoft.com.

7. Attendee Benefits:
 DreamSpark access keys will be provided in an Excel file prior to the event.
 These access keys can be issued to bonafide student attendees & redeemed at
https://www.dreamspark.com/Activate/Default.aspx
 Position this as an event “organized by Microsoft Student Partners” and NOT as an event
“organized by Microsoft”. DS Yatra is meant to be “For the Students & By the Students”.
8. PR Tips:
 Submit event updates on www.dreamsparkyatra.com
 Use social media like Twitter using #dsy2011 and www.facebook.com/dreamsparkyatra
 Consider contacting local press/TV/radio media, especially those that run an education
supplement or show.
 Consider submitting your event details via a press release at free sites like:
http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/india
http://www.indiaprline.com

9. Pre-Event Planning:
 Register your event and submit the event plan at http://www.dreamsparkyatra.com/. Follow the steps
mentioned in the section above, titled “DreamSpark Yatra Website”.
 Form a team of MSPs in your city. Elect one MSP as the city captain. This MSP will be responsible
for all communication regarding the DS Yatra event to be organized in your city. The city captain
does not get any extra points or goodies from us. This really needs to be a team effort.
 The city captain should register the event plan on behalf of the whole team based on a collective
decision.
 Ensure that you submit your event plan as early as possible (at least 15 working days before the
event)
 Email approval &/or suggestions will be provided within 7 working days. Microsoft works from
Monday-Friday only.

10. Post-event formalities:

Within 7 days after the event, here’s what the City Captain needs to do:
 Publicize the event and success stories on the Microsoft India Student Facebook fan page:
http://www.facebook.com/dreamsparkyatra
 Submit the Event Report at the MSP India Sharepoint site (login using MSP portal credentials)
https://www.microsoftstudentpartners.com/mspindia/Lists/DS_Yatra_Reports/AllItems.aspx
 The report should contain ALL the following elements in a .zip file:
o Attendee List as an attachment using the format as per the Attendee List template that is
available at http://www.dreamsparkyatra.com/DSYMM/AttendeeListTemplate.xlsx
o Brief description of the event
o Date & Venue details
o Final agenda (topic name, duration & speaker name)
o List of MSP organizers
o List of non-MSP supporters/sponsors (if any)
o Details of press/media coverage (if any)
o Actual expense details (with scanned copies of bills etc.)

11. Event Expenses:

Reimbursements will be made for approved DS Yatra events within 60 days after proper completion of
the post-event formalities. The expenses per event will be given on the basis of the following slabs:
 Over 150 (<= 250) student attendees: Rs. 5,000
 Over 250 (<= 500) student attendees: Rs. 10,000
 Over 500 (<= 750) student attendees: Rs. 20,000
 Over 750 (<= 1000) student attendees: Rs. 27,000
 Over 1000 student attendees: Rs. 35,000

Multiple events can be conducted in a city, but the maximum TOTAL reimbursement will be
restricted to Rs. 35,000 per city.

e.g. If 2 separate DS Yatra events in the same city, reimbursement slabs will be applied to each of them
separately. But the maximum amount that will be reimbursed for that city will not exceed Rs. 35,000.
12. Frequently Asked Questions:
a) I am a new MSP and I want guidance. How do I proceed?
Get in touch with senior MSPs in your city and take tips from them on how to organize a DS Yatra
event. Find other MSPs in your city by using the Profile Search functionality on the MSP portal. Visit
www.microsoftstudentpartners.com and sign in with your BPOS account. Enter the name of the MSP
you want to search and select country as “India”. Select “Students” from the left panel.

b) Whom can I collaborate with to organize a DS Yatra event?

We strongly recommend that any DS Yatra event be organized as a group event. Form a team of
MSPs in your city and formulate an event plan. Then register your event and submit the event plan.
In case you are the only MSP in your region, you can also rope in other student volunteers and
Student Tech Club members to help out with the event.

c) Can I deliver a Technical session?

We encourage MSPs to deliver Technical sessions at DS Yatra events. Ensure that you are
adequately prepared for the session and ready to handle any queries that come from the audience.

d) What will I get for conducting a DS Yatra event in my city?

First-hand experience of organizing a large event, improving your technical and people management
skills, recognition as a student leader among your peers… and get one step closer to be invited for the
next MSP BootCamp in August 2011! There are no Activity Points for conducting or speaking at a DS
Yatra event since it is designed to be a group activity to help foster city-level technical communities.

Note: Full list of various criteria for the MSP BootCamp in August 2011 will be published in the first
week of March 2011.

e) Will I have to produce bills for all expenses incurred?

Yes, we need scanned soft-copies of all bills. These have to be submitted as part of the post-event
formalities.

f) What if I want to do a Yatra event in my college only?

Yes, you can do a Yatra event just for your college. Please take proper permissions from your college
administration and ensure that students from other colleges are also allowed to attend. Please
coordinate well with the rest of the MSPs (if any) in your city since there is a reimbursement limit per
city.

g) For DS Yatra 2011, is an indicative list of “cities” available?

Yes, an indicative list of “cities” is available (after logging in) at
https://www.microsoftstudentpartners.com/mspindia/Official%20Content/DSY2011_IndicativeCities.pdf
If you plan to conduct a DS Yatra event in some other city, please write to dsyatra@microsoft.com

h) I have already submitted my event plan on the Survey Monkey link. Do I need to resubmit it on
the DS Yatra website?
Yes, you will need to resubmit your event plan on http://dreamsparkyatra.com/msplogin .
i) My city does not have a large venue to accommodate many people at a time. Can I conduct
multiple DS Yatra events? And will these be counted as separate events or 1 event? What
about the reimbursement in this case?
We do not recommend that you conduct multiple events in a city. Instead, you should target multiple
cities. If however, you want to conduct multiple events in your city, please coordinate well with the rest
of the MSPs (if any) in your city since there is a reimbursement limit per city.

j) I have an MSDN subscription. Can I use it to distribute software to others?

Strictly no. MSDN subscription is for the specific subscriber only. We will be giving you DreamSpark
access keys for the student attendees which they can use to download genuine Microsoft software, at
no charge, from www.dreamspark.com

k) Can I charge students for attending a Yatra event?

Strictly No. We understand that you will incur expenses in organizing a Yatra event. Thus we have
revised the reimbursement slabs to help you recover your costs.
We also encourage you to look for local sponsors. But before committing anything to them, please
send us the list of sponsors and what you have communicated to them. After we approve, you can go
ahead with them.

l) Will any printed posters be sent to me, or do I have to get them printed on my own? And do I
have to bear the expense for this myself?
No physical posters will be sent. Soft-copies of marketing material is available at
http://www.dreamsparkyatra.com/msplogin/

m) What are the important URLs that I should be aware of?

Primary Website (& Pre-Event Planning):
www.dreamsparkyatra.com

Technical Resources:
http://channel9.msdn.com/Learn/Courses
http://www.microsoft.com/design/toolbox/
http://technet.microsoft.com/hi-in/default.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/hi-in/default.aspx

DreamSpark key activation (useful for event attendees):

https://www.dreamspark.com/Activate/Default.aspx

Buzz:
www.facebook.com/dreamsparkyatra
www.twitter.com/msindiastudent

Post-Event Formalities:
https://www.microsoftstudentpartners.com/mspindia/Lists/DS_Yatra_Reports/AllItems.aspx

n) Will a Microsoft speaker be made available for our DS Yatra event?

DS Yatra is supposed to be “For the Students & By the Students”. Hence MSPs need to be at the
forefront & not Microsoft speakers. For certain large-scale events, we will try to arrange for MS
speakers, but this is subject to speaker availability & travel logistics. Speakers request can be made in
the event plan submission.

o) Suppose I can organize a DS Yatra event with college or local sponsor support & I don’t need
reimbursement from Microsoft- can I proceed?
Yes, but don’t charge the attendees. Also, mention this while submitting the event plan & wait for event
approval.