The University of Toronto has announced that they have established a new scholarship "with video gaming as part of the eligibility criteria", and that students will need a passion for esports.
Alumnus Victor Xin is funding the scholarship, which also looks for students with a high academic performance too. "We should reward leadership attributes no matter how they manifest themselves," said Xin, who is now managing partner at Athena Capital Partners, an investment firm based in Toronto. "I want to help students who pursue leadership and personal development but go about it a different way."
The Victor Xin Scholarship in Esports, as it is known, will be given to those in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, and students will need to show a passion for esports and show leadership too.
Xin himself is a fan of big esports titles like StarCraft and Dota 2, and has previously helped build a community for other engineering students from the university who were interested in esports.
"There are trailblazers on campus who are rallying a different set of students to build campus organizations focused on an alternative way of learning to lead and succeed in life," he explained. "Socisety may not recognise them yet - but we shouldn't let them fall through the cracks."
"I hope esports becomes even more mainstream and draws more attention," Xin added. "Then students who are passionate about esports can get the recognition they deserve and the support they need to succeed."
The first of these scholarships will be offered next year. Is this a dream scholarship?