The Hogeschool van Amsterdam will start a new minor 'The Future of Esports' in September 2021. The H20 Esports Campus Amsterdam serves as a location for the minor. The programme focuses on all aspects that make esports special as a niche for various industries. Unique to the HvA is that the minor is driven by a collaboration between multiple faculties, with the faculties of sports science and sports marketing as driving forces.
The purpose of the Minor 'The Future of Esports' is to highlight the diversity of the sports world. Students learn about different facets of the esports industry and the knowledge they gain during the course can be used in their post-graduation careers. The minor is divided into several two-week sprints, each with a unique theme and a business challenge related to the world of esports.
As part of the minor, the students will also receive a number of workshops from experts in the field of esports from both the Netherlands and the rest of the world. The workshops will be held at the H20 Esports Campus Amsterdam. The H20 Esports Campus is the only permanent event location in the field of esports and also has training facilities for students and companies.
The minor in the spotlight
Thijs van Dijk, appointed as coordinator of this minor by the HvA, tells about the format of the minor: "The first sprint of two weeks serves as an introduction of esports in which students have to work together intensively to set up their own esports team, they are completely immersed in the world of esports at the H20 Esports Campus during these introductory weeks. The second sprint will focus on the marketing and branding aspects of esports, addressing questions such as: 'what makes your team unique?' and 'why should sponsors choose your team?'
The third sprint focuses on video production, broadcasting and live streaming, which is of course an essential part of esports. The students have to make a video production with matching audio commentary, also called shoutcasting. In the fourth sprint, a number of regular business partners of the H20 Esports Campus Amsterdam go deeper into the creative tech side of esports. The next sprint will focus on organising an esports event and the students will immediately apply their knowledge from the first weeks in practice.
The sixth and final sprint will look at the future of (e)sports and how esports can contribute to better physical health and a healthier society.
The last two weeks of the minor are dedicated to 'The End Game', an event in which the students have to put everything they have learned into practice."
You can't do anything alone, you have to do it together'.
Founder Dirk Tuip of H20 Esports Campus is very proud of the cooperation: "As a child I dreamed of a job as a gym teacher. In the end it became sports marketing at the HvA (Johan Cruyff Academy). That's why I find it so special to be able to work together with these faculties in this way, in order to develop the minor 'The Future of esports'. For both sport and physical activity and for sports marketing, esports and forms of hybrid sport are an important trend and an opportunity to capitalise on."
The first students will be able to start the minor in September 2021. At the moment, the minor is only available to HvA students. The aim for the future is to make this minor also available to students of other Universities of Applied Sciences.
For more information please contact Sjaak Kuil of H20 Esports Campus via Sjaak@h20.gg or 06 4343 1848 and Thijs van Dijk of Hogeschool van Amsterdam via T.van.dijk@hva.nl or 06 5050 6215.