As a preview of one of the “big attractions” at the college’s Open House this Saturday (November 17), St. Clair “got gamey” during a press conference on Wednesday, by highlighting its involvement in esports.
Officials discussed the school’s first-in-Canada founding of an esports varsity team (Saints Gaming) two years ago, and next year’s launch of an academic program in Esports Administration and Entrepreneurship.
The development of both involved some “out-of-the-box” thinking by the college’s administration, said President Patti France.: "At the outset, I think it is fair to say that very few members of our senior administrative team had any inkling of the phenomenal scope of e-sports … on an international basis, including its professional element, and involving a huge following of fans turning out both in-person to tournaments and viewing competitions on web-based broadcasts.”
But the enthusiastic response to the varsity team’s formation – including its offering of scholarships to student-players – soon led to the college’s examination of the academic potential of esports.
In that realm, France noted, “When we started to explore some of the facts and figures of the multi-billion-dollar e-sports industry – and its huge and diverse employment market of technicians, game-developers, tournament-stagers and broadcasters, promoters, coaches and managers – we quickly concluded that we had to be on the cutting edge of this new and exciting professional field. That has led to our launch of the E-sports Administration and Entrepreneurship program in 2019, under the umbrella of our Zekelman School of Business and Information Technology.”
A description of that two-year-long diploma program can be found at http://www.stclaircollege.ca/programs/postsec/esports_admin/. If a sufficient number of prospective students enrol in that program within the next few weeks, it may launch in January of 2019. Otherwise, it will get underway next September.
Student Representative Council (SRC) President Holly Nicholson noted that her organization has had a first-hand role in the development of esports at the college.
She said, “The student council didn’t just endorse the college’s involvement in e-sports, we actually partnered with the administration to make the dream become a reality. He’ll soon be a faculty member when the new Esports Administration and Entrepreneurship program gets underway next year; but, since the team’s launch, Shaun Byrne has been employed by the SRC as its Esports Director. We also set aside space in the Student Centre to develop and equip The Nest (the practice facility for Saints Gaming); and, in a similar fashion, a portion of the council-managed open computer lab will be converted to classroom space for the new academic program. The student government also oversees all of the transportation requirements for Saints Gaming when its members are headed to tournaments, and all of the organization’s financial transactions.
“We’re fully supportive, too, of the college’s offering of the new academic programming in this field,” Nicholson said. “Anything that is of such substantial interest to young people, and which has so much employment potential, will be beneficial to everyone concerned: the college, the council, and the students.”
Shaun Byrne has been the Head Coach of Saints Gaming since its inception, the SRC’s Director of Esports, and he will serve as the Coordinator of the new academic program.
He observed that the remarkable student-recruitment success inherent in the formation of Canada’s first collegiate esports team – coupled with the fact that many of its players have, subsequently, become highly ranked in North American competitions – have helped to spur great interest among other Canadian postsecondary institutions and local high schools. He’s frequently contacted by other schools for advice about forming esports teams and leagues.
“And one of the questions that I’m most frequently asked by those getting involved in esports is ‘Where do I find experienced and trained staff to help me?’,” Byrne noted. “The graduates of this new (academic) program will be the answer to that question.”
In contrast, he has been involved in esports for seven years – almost since the start of large-scale, competitive electronic gaming – “and I had to learn everything involved almost in a trial-and-error way. This program formalizes all of the knowledge and techniques involved, to supply an employment market that is expanding exponentially every year.”
And the fact that the varsity team is already well established will provide students in the academic program with on-site practical experience. They will be regularly involved with the team’s activities, including such tasks – and future employment avenues – as coaching, managing, league administration, tournament staging, and marketing and broadcasting.
ALSO ON THIS WEDNESDAY …
Other campus Scenery on Wednesday, November 14 included:
• A symposium on “Human Trafficking: Learn How to Protect Yourself from a Modern Day Danger in Canada”, staged by the college’s Athletics Department and International Office. The discussion was led by OPP Staff Sergeant Brad Sakalo, and attracted a large audience of students and staff to the Room 322 lecture hall;
• A pop-up mental health wellness lounge in the Student Life Centre, staged by the Good2Talk phone-hotline/website. Drop by to chat with counsellors, unwind, and have a neck massage. Check out its helpful services at https://good2talk.ca/; and
• The SRC is doling out info-cards and blue ribbons from its booth in the main hallway’s alcove on this, World Diabetes Awareness Day.
