Esports in Education Summit breaks record attendance for fifth successive year

British Esports International Education Summit breaks record attendance for the fifth successive year with 42% increase in new institutions attending.

Sunderland, UK, Tuesday 21st February 2023 – British Esports, the UK’s national esports federation, is delighted to announce a 42% increase in unique institutions attending the fifth Esports in Education Summit.

Designed for Senior Leaders, Curriculum Managers, Lecturers, and Educational Institutions with a keen interest in esports, as well as those from amateur and professional esports organisations, British Esports’ Esports in Education Summit provides a platform to discuss the ongoing impact, developments, and opportunities available in competitive gaming and esports for schools and colleges, especially those in varied stages of esports development.

Initially launched in 2019 as the Esports within Further Education Conference, the event has grown significantly in popularity over the previous years, with the latest edition featuring more than 250 institutions from over 20 countries around the world.  

In 2020 British Esports and Pearson launched a suite of esports qualifications, the first of their kind globally,  that have been enjoyed by over 5,500 throughout the UK and Internationally.  Furthermore, with almost 40 university esports related degrees now available in the UK and US, as well as a range of esports scholarships available at universities, students are able to study a range of areas in esports, such as Esports Business, Esports Events Management, Esports Production and Esports Coaching.

To accommodate the rapid rise in interest, the 2023 edition, hosted at Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies’ brand new £5m, 14,000 sq ft dedicated esports production complex for the second successive year, welcomed speakers and panellists from educational institutions across the UK and beyond, British-based esports organisations, leading safeguarding platforms, charitable foundations, as well as teachers and students with first hand experience of esports education delivery, and competitive esports tournament play.

Visitors on the day were able to take advantage of new networking opportunities, alongside a Student Champs showmatch featuring Confetti Arrows and Loughborough Lycans in Confetti X, Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies’ state-of-the-art esports arena. 

As esports education continues to see exponential growth, students are now able to progress into a range of careers and areas of study such as business, law, finance, entrepreneurship, journalism, video production, games development, graphic design, marketing and traditional sports routes such as sports science, psychology, nutrition and health and wellbeing. 

“Esports education continues to provide an opportunity for students to access state-of-the-art facilities, develop skills for digital and creative industries and to pursue a passion in education that has previously been unavailable.”  said Kalam Neale, Head of Education, British Esports. “Centres offering esports are reporting substantial increases in student engagement, re-engagement of students into education, as well as increased retention and attendance figures.”  

British Esports would like to extend its thanks to all attendees, as well as extending special thanks to the team and students at Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies.

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Contact

Adam McGowan | Marketing Director | British Esports | Email: press@britishesports.org  

Kalam Neale | Head of Education | British Esports | Email: kn@britishesports.org

About British Esports 

British Esports is a not-for-profit organisation established in 2016 to support and promote esports in the UK. As a national body, its aims are to foster future British talent, increase the awareness of esports and provide expertise and advice. It’s focused on the grassroots level of esports and is not a governing body. The Federation helps educate the masses – including parents, teachers, media and government – around what esports is and what its benefits are. Its three goals are to promote, improve and inspire. For more information and all the latest news, visit www.britishesports.org or follow British Esports on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitch, YouTube, TikTok.

About Confetti Institute of Technologies

Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies is a dynamic and progressive learning institute offering specialist vocational education and training – from college-level courses through to postgraduate degrees. Subject areas include music performance, production, business, esports production, games design and production, film and television, animation, graphic design and VFX, live events production, and event management. Home to more than 2,000 students, ambitious growth plans have been supported with investment from parent company Nottingham Trent University. Opening in September 2023, Confetti and NTU will deliver pioneering creative education aligned to the entertainment industries at a new purpose-designed industry centre in Whitechapel, East London.