Esports HND: So much more than playing games

Behind every tournament is a business: broadcasters, content creators, event organisers, social media teams and sponsorship managers.

Dom, from Burnley, originally wanted to go into media as a YouTuber, driven by a simple motivation. “I’ve always wanted to entertain others. I’ve always wanted to be a reason people smile every day, and being an event organiser or a live streamer are two of my personal dream jobs.”

Dom and his classmates are the first ever HND cohort at Burnley College – following on from being the first HNC group and, before that, the first BTEC class. He found the esports course when a tutor described the business side of esports as an event, and it captivated Dom.

And it’s that business focus that separates the course from the assumptions many people make. “Despite people’s common beliefs, very little of it is based around playing the games. It’s all about the business side,” Dom says. “It’s really important that we focus on the idea that it’s not just playing games but learning the ins and outs of the background of them.” The units Dom has studied include social media management and content creation, event organisation, shoutcasting, immersive technology, and – unexpectedly, for him – health and wellbeing.

“Health and wellbeing was one of my favourites, which surprised me as I didn’t expect it to be. It talks about the mental, physical and emotional health of esports players and managers, and what it takes to be a part of that.”

The unit turned out to be more useful than Dom could have expected. A year after studying it, at 18, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. “Luckily I had just done that unit, so I already knew what foods to avoid. If it weren’t for that unit I did during year one, I’d be in a much worse space when it comes to diagnosis, what to expect and what to do.”

The detail in units like that has also turned his family around:

“When I gave my initial reasonings on why I wanted to do esports, there was originally a bit of confusion about the idea of me playing games all day. But I eventually showed my mother my nutrition unit and she got to see the level of detail that was invested in it. Now she uses me as bragging chips for other people, because she’s proud of her son.”

The Burnley College esports suites are purpose-built for training gamers and esports fans. “Walking in, it’s a striking room full of coloured LEDs for PCs, giving the feeling of a professional gaming environment” says Dom. Across three rooms the college has full gaming PCs with industry-standard peripherals, some with dual monitors for competitive reference work, and partnerships with major esports tech brands. “The chair I’m currently sat on is from Corsair, which is one of the tech brands, as well as the mouse and keyboards.

“Watching what started off as a set of 20 people around a single Nintendo Switch turn into three giant rooms of full gaming PCs and a bunch of business units was really cool.”

Industry exposure is built into the course too, with trips to TwitchCon in Rotterdam and regular Industry Weeks where professionals come in to give talks. “It allowed us to come face to face with some of the brands, as well as really focus on melding our connections together.” Students are encouraged to follow every speaker on LinkedIn to keep those connections live.

Next, it’s on to Staffordshire, with a Master’s to follow. “My intention is to try and get a job with one of the two businesses that are currently collaborating with the University of Staffordshire, being epic.LAN and Riot Games, as an event organiser or something along those lines.”

Burnley College’s HNC in Esports is part of the Lancashire and Cumbria Institute of Technology’s range of digital and cyber courses, all designed with industry employers to make sure learners develop the specific skills needed to fulfil the role.