Esports in Education: Teachability, Employability and Student Satisfaction
In 2018, Staffordshire University enrolled its inaugural cohort of students on the first official Esports undergraduate degree. In the wake of this cohort’s graduation, it’s led us to investigate what other universities have followed suit in offering formal Esports qualifications at a degree-level. This week’s Esports exclusive article has been developed over a few weeks, as we took some time to research and assess the current educational contexts within which Esports exists, and collect a range of opinions on its teachability. Since 2018, here are just some of the Esports courses on offer.
So, there’s no doubt that there are now a fair few options for Esports enthusiasts since the first degree launched. Whereas Esports qualifications at a college level have existed for a while longer than the degrees themselves. We spoke to 18-year-old Oliver on his experience studying Level 3 Esports at Suffolk New College, covering topics from nutrition and fitness for Esports players to how to produce Esport branding. Oliver speaks highly of his course as it has given him more direction for his future as he plans to progress further into the world of Esports and Education by applying to undergraduate degrees in the field.
While there is no doubt of demand, there are some out there that question the effectiveness and intentions of the universities who present these three-year courses. In order to better understand the arguments for and against the formal teaching of Esports, we sat down and chatted with those actively involved in the Esports community as consumers, professionals, and teachers.
We first contacted Nathan Edmonds, the 22-year-old Community and Marketing Head at Hitmarker a popular Esports job website. He has previously worked at Excel, Gfinity and Esports Insider as well as taking the CEO position at the Radiant Esports organisation. Edmonds offers us his insight, as an industry professional, into why he believes the scope of Esports is entirely too big to pin down into one specific course.
We then spoke to Staffordshire University’s lead Esports lecturer Matt Huxley who boasts similarly impressive credits from his many years working in Esports. Huxley started his Esports career as a casual Counter Strike player back in 2002 and then went into Esports events management for companies such as Formula One and Formula E. He was invited to advise on the development of Staffs Esports course before it was released, and eventually joined the teaching staff alongside his current practice.
Finally, we spoke to Jaime, a 24-year-old, who is currently enrolled on her Esports course at Staffordshire University. Jaime was able to offer some insight into student satisfaction levels though, of course, her experience is not representative of all students undertaking degrees such as this.
It is important, at this stage, to offer a slight disclaimer on behalf of all of those we interviewed. Each of these interviewees have opted to speak to Tell as individuals, and their opinions are not a reflection of the organisations and companies they are associated with. Okay. Now we’ve gotten that out of the way…let’s get into the good stuff!
So, how do you teach Esports?
This is perhaps the first question one might ask when informed about the fact that there are Esports courses out there. For an industry so large but also so niche, it’s not uncommon for one to question how a single course can supply sufficient knowledge of a whole industry. For Nathan Edmonds his main concern is the quality of the courses that are currently on offer from their scope to the teaching staff. Much like many out there, Edmonds argues, “if it’s not perfect you don’t sell it for nine grand a year”. However, after 2/3 years of striking lecturers and COVID-19 induced lockdowns, it could be argued that millions of students from a whole range of courses could say the exact same.
What it comes down to however is how you define Esports, because Esports is an industry that has to be experienced rather than taught. However, there are a whole host of transferable skills essential and specific to Esports that can be structured into a teachable curriculum.
“There’s no such thing as teaching esports, just as there’s no such thing as teaching sports because it’s so vast and so big […] what we do is teach transferable skills that allow you to learn while you’re doing something you love.” – Gary Tibbett, Education Manager at British Esports Association
What universities are attempting to do is pull out specific teachable elements and apply the theory. For example, in the first year alone at Staffordshire University a student will study;
At University of Portsmouth, a first-year Esports student will cover;
Thirdly, at Chichester, an Esports student will cover the following modules in year one;
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It seems that each course is in a different stage of development and has its own specialisms and focus areas. However, the most important aspect is that the universities and teaching staff are striving to offer the best modules and opportunities that they can to their students. In doing so, they are making a growing, and sometimes overwhelmingly big, industry accessible to younger people with less experience.
This is a sentiment echoed by Matt Huxley who stressed the importance of a balanced approach between theory and practice, without placing more importance on one or the other. He suggested an area for development would be the opportunities offered to students for active filed work. There are some aspects of Esports that need to be taught through practical work such as Esports broadcasting. Then there are others, such as studies into Esports spectatorship or psychology that are just as important but favour a more research-based teaching style.
“Having academics and non-academics is important in most industries; having people who learn through experience is as important as those who learn from facts and research” – Jaime
Edmonds did draw attention to the equipment and facilities that universities can often provide for their students. He said one university he visited had an entire studio fully equipped to host events. This is an incredible tool to have at your disposal, though it can be questioned – does this fully-equipped studio with its low-risk events really prepare a student for the madness of the Esports industry?
Who’s actually doing the teaching?
Esports is a relatively young industry, with the first official Esports tournament taking place only approximately 50 years ago. It has undoubtedly grown copious amounts in this time, but it does beg the question – how qualified can the lecturers on an Esports course actually be? This was a concern presented to us by Nathan Edmonds who suggested that due to the youth of the industry, some of the students themselves may be even more experienced and knowledgeable than their own lecturers. For Jaime, she came to her course after volunteering in industry since 2019, but she testifies that her time at Staffs so far has been invaluable.
“The skills I've learned even just over my first semester at university have been invaluable to deciding the career path I want to take. I have a lot of opportunities for work thanks to this course.” - Jaime
However, upon conducting our own research, almost all of the course on offer can boast connections with big names, brands, and organisations that either endorse, build or work directly on the course. For example, University of Chichester has Rams ‘r2k’ Singh as part of their teaching staff and Matt Huxley who is actively practicing alongside his teaching leads the Staffs Esports course. It does seem that, the accepted structure on an Esports course, is to build your teaching staff around one notable industry person and flesh it out with research-based lecturers. It is important at this point to acknowledge the significance of research and academics, equitable to that of the industry professionals. According to Matt, a lot of his colleagues offer essential insight into aspects such as “researching the interrelation of playful and political economies”. Many of the staff at Staffordshire University have really interesting “research niches even if they haven’t actively practiced”. Jaime backs this up with a beaming review that is a testament to the teaching staff she has been led by.
“My teaching staff are absolutely the most supportive and passionate people I've ever met. In particular, David Cumming is an invaluable fountain of research knowledge, he specialises in spectatorship in Esports which is something I'm gaining interest in thanks to his teaching and his own research. I’m currently reading his thesis in between answering these questions, thanks David! Cameron Vanloo is also incredibly supportive, and their lectures are a joy to be part of as they show so much passion in their teaching.” – Jaime
A challenge, however, when it comes to recruiting teaching staff who have both the capacity to lecture and have some experience of actively working in the field was brought to our attention by Matt. He pointed out that it can be hard to recruit those from the field as going from working in industry to teaching requires a huge change of pace. Matt himself didn’t make the change until he found himself ready to settle down in his personal life as well as his professional life.
Where does this course get you?
Inevitably, there are always going to be those degrees that receive extra ridicule, particularly if they’re considered less ‘academic’ compared to, let’s say, STEM subjects. Here at Tell, we have a lot of theatre graduates working for us, so we’re no stranger to having to justify our career prospects. However, it’s still worth considering, where might an Esports degree get you in the long run?
Nathan Edmonds made a good argument that Esports may be too narrow a degree. He suggested that someone with an interest in marketing would be better off just studying a general marketing degree. This is an interesting point and would absolutely open up a much wider range of employment opportunities after graduation, should that be the priority. However, one of the beauties of higher education is the wealth of specific and dedicated degrees that give you the opportunity to zone in on your particular interests and passions. Particularly after 7 years of studying ‘core’ subjects.
While Matt was able to list a whole range of positions available in the Esports industry, he did highlight the fact that Esports is not like “law or finance or medicine” where there are numerous jobs waiting for you at the end. He likened Esports to music in that “only a few will go to the end” and those are the students who have been actively hustling alongside their studies. Matt raised the issue that as Esports has grown in popularity it has become somewhat of a ‘fetishised’ industry that is seen as trendy and glamorous to be part of which really does amp up the competition.
Matt also made the point that not every degree has to lead to employment, it can, in fact, lead to further study. That is exactly what Jaime plans to do after completing her degree.
“I am planning to do a masters and later a PhD after completing my undergrad studies, however, I'm also founding an esports broadcast staffing and training agency during my time at university to provide value to graduates as well as those who don't have the same opportunities for education as I have. That, however, will be entirely practical based so I plan on taking a smaller role once it's established and finding my place in academia, likely lecturing future students, and developing the course while I complete my PhD.” - Jaime
Jaime has been able to find her passion for academia in the very specific field which she loves. She has also found a way to practice alongside to create a really tailored and fulfilling career path.
Like most things, the birth of Esports specific undergraduate degrees has bred a fair amount of controversy with many believing that the motivation behind these courses is purely to make money. However, it can also be argued that this opinion is fuelled by those who are intimidated with the growth of the industry and wish to gate-keep it. The harsh reality, however, is that Esports is just too big now to gate-keep. Additionally, gatekeeping gives the impression that Esports is perfect as it is which is untrue when you consider issues such as the gender disparities between women and men in the industry. Whether universities do partake to make money or for the betterment of the industry, the courses do and will exist. The priority, therefore, is to ensure that the opportunities for students who wish to enrol are worthwhile and give plenty of chances to further their practice as this can only help the industry grow and improve.