The University of Leicester is partnering with the UK arm of global esports company ESL to develop a unique course to help students gain valuable insights into the esports industry.
The course, which is the first of its kind, will help students to gain knowledge in developing services for esports, giving them hands-on access to data and intelligence from esports specialists to provide them with a unique advantage in gaining employment in the sector.
Jeremy Levesley, Professor of Applied Mathematics at the University of Leicester Department of Mathematics, who is leading on the development of the course, said: “People learn best when at play, so now more than ever, developing the use of games as a medium for learning is of paramount importance. Esports is a very important component of this, as it becomes more popular around the world.
“I am hoping that students will gain commercial awareness of the esports business model, which is one of the fastest growing parts of the gaming economy.”
ESL, a part of the international digital entertainment group MTG, is the world’s largest esports company, leading the industry across the most popular video games with numerous online and offline competitions.
James Dean, managing director of ESL UK, said: “As the esports industry grows in the UK, we are keen to establish an ecosystem that is sustainable for the future. A key component to this is training and attracting talent to the number of roles the esports industry provides. The course outlined by the University of Leicester is very exciting for students looking to join the esports industry and we are delighted to support it.”
About the University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is led by discovery and innovation – an international centre for excellence renowned for research, teaching and broadening access to higher education. The University of Leicester is ranked among the top one per cent of universities in the world by the THE World University Rankings. It is among the top 25 universities in the Times Higher Education REF Research Power rankings with 75% of research adjudged to be internationally excellent with wide-ranging impacts on society, health, culture, and the environment.