Staffordshire University Business School has become the first British University to launch an esports degree. The course focuses on the business and culture of esports from developing teams, communities and a fan base to hosting esports events.
Staffordshire University has invested heavily in new facilities as part of a £40m transformation of its Stoke-on-Trent campus and academics feel the University is well placed to plug into rapidly growing sectors like esports which is the practice of playing video games competitively over the internet or via networked computers in venues and stadiums.
Already Staffordshire University has responded to the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment’s (Ukie) white paper on esports by introducing a module on esports in their Games Degree.
Back in January, Dr Fletcher, Head of the Games and Visual Effects at Staffordshire University said:
“The module which is available to students on our Games Studies course is a fascinating branch of cultural studies. It looks at the national, and international market for esports, and the cultural aspects that drive it as well as the darker side of cheating and doping by esports players. Games designers are growing up and that brings with it new trends in gaming which comes with its own set of ethical dilemmas.”
Other countries around the world have recognised esports as part of the curriculum for some years. In South Korea, where the first esports association was set up 17 years ago, they have been accepting esports players onto their sports programmes for four years. At the Asia Pacific University in Malaysia, students can complete certificates in League of Legends, DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. In Norway, the Garnes Vidaregaande high school pupils can opt for esports and can study for up to five hours per week, they focus not just on game play but also combine physical exercise in the mix.
One thing all these esports educators have in common is an agreement that esports provides a vast amount of transferable skills to the participants.
Top skills for esports:
- Teamworking
- Resilience
- Stamina
- Problem Solving
- Communication
- Endurance
- Decision Making
- Leadership
- Critical thinking
- Analytical
The students on Staffordshire University Business School’s BA (Hons) esports will also have classes in event management, digital marketing, the legal side of esports and streaming techniques. This will make sure that when they leave university they’ll have all the right skills to prepare them for a great career. With huge growth predicted in this area there are lots of job opportunities. Many recruitment agencies, like Odgers Berndston have set up separate divisions to deal with esports careers and there are even some new sites that have sprung up like ‘esports Careers’ who are currently listing almost 500 vacancies. The British esports Association lists over 12 career paths on its website, here are a few:
- Shoutcaster/host
- Coach/analyst
- Journalist/content creator
- PR/Marketing executive
- Community/social media manager
- Broadcast/production crew
- Event manager
To find out more about esports at Staffordshire University Business School visit the website staffs.ac.uk.
Rachel Gowers MBA
Associate Dean
Staffordshire University Business School