ESL are the world's largest esports company and are spearheading the delve into esports research in partnership with the University of York, one of the top universities in the UK. The university will "pioneer UK-based teaching and research tailored to a rapidly evolving esports industry", and will include the Digital Creativity Labs, an £18 million research initiative focusing on the convergence of digital games and interactive media; the University of York's Department of Theatre, Film and Television, which is one of the top three degrees in the UK in that discipline; along with the Department of Computer Science, which is also one of the highest ranked in the UK.
What this means for students at the university is that ESL will hold regular masterclasses, including workshops and taster days, and students will be offered BSc and MSc dissertations on esports. ESL and UoY are also co-designing a module specifically on esports content production for third year students, which will be launching at the start of the 2018/19 academic year.
PhD internships will also take place through the Intelligent Games and Game Intelligence (IGGI) programme, led by the Digital Creativity Labs. It will explore areas such as AI, human-computer interaction, game analytics and more, while ESL will be offering internships with hands-on experience for the top undergraduate students, while placements will be available to selected PhD students.
"We're incredibly excited to be entering into a partnership with the University of York to help develop fresh new esports talent," said James Dean, Managing Director of ESL UK. "We've always been committed to creating opportunities for more people to enter the industry and now, with the help of the University of York, we're looking forward to being able to help make sure the future is even brighter and better than it is now."
The University of York isn't even the first academic institute to offer something along these lines. Last month, Staffordshire University announced they'll be offering a full degree in esports that focuses on the business side of things, such as creating and managing organisations and events.
Do you think this is a good sign for the esports industry? Let us know in the comments.
