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UAL Awarding Body has seen a rapid growth in the delivery of Esports through the UAL Level 2 Diploma in Creative Media Production & Technology and the Level 3 Diploma and Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production & Technology qualifications.

UAL centres are choosing UAL qualifications to support their vision for Esports education because they are designed in collaboration with industry professionals, offering students industry-relevant skills and knowledge, leading to high retention and achievement rates, and facilitating progression to higher education or employment.

The rise of esports in education has led to the creation of dedicated esports teams and facilities. Wiltshire College has just launched a cutting-edge Esports and Digital facility—marking a significant step forward for the sector and for UAL's growing presence in the world of competitive gaming and digital media. Wiltshire College is not only innovating but also helping shape the future of creative and competitive digital learning.

We got the chance to speak to Owain Milford, Head of Faculty for Creative Arts, Media and Performance at Wiltshire College and University Centre, about the launch of their industry standard Esports and Digital Media facility #TechTrowbridge, and the exciting projects currently underway.

Can you share some behind the build #TechTrowbridge advice for other esports education providers planning to create a dedicated esports facility?  

We were able to identify that there is a real local need for tech skills and digital skills in the area through working with research undertaken by Nesta, and the requirements form the Local Skills Improvement Plan. Due to this we knew we needed to make a facility that really mirrored industry and provided the students with the best opportunities to work with industry standard equipment, so they are ready to move into the sector. Through effective working with a range of stakeholders including community organisations, businesses, and local authorities need to gain a wide range of support for what we titled the tech Trowbridge the initiative. Once we achieved funding, we were able to bring in a range of specialist partners who helped us ensure that we we're developing both the hardware software and networking requirements that would be needed to provide the resources for our students.

Can you tell us about some of the exciting student-led projects (productions, events and collaborations) that are currently happening in the facility?  

Some of our projects so far have involved invitationals for Esports events and we're also looking to put on wider regional events, inviting other colleges to come and compete. We're also developing our World Skills Project with a real focus on sustainability through marketing and competition design.

What kinds of learners is Wiltshire College attracting? How is the new space changing the game for student engagement?

We were able to go from having no Esports courses to having overly subscribed Esports courses within one year. This year we're looking to continue that trend. We've also seen that our growth has come from entirely new students in i.e. we're not reducing our cohort sizes on some of the other creative media offers.

Through our Esports courses we're able to attract students who are interested in content creation who might not be our typical film and television style students. We've also being able to significantly increase our student experience for students on our games development programmes for providing them with the best technology to complete their work period. This wouldn't be possible without having received the funding that we're able to attain through our launching of an Esports curriculum.

Why has Wiltshire College chosen UAL qualifications to support their vision for Esports education?

When looking to develop an Esports curriculum we looked at a range of options for accreditation. From that review we're able to clearly decide on UAL as the most suitable awarding body and qualification. This was because it gave us the freedom and opportunity to develop projects that would ensure students had the best opportunities. It also meant that we could be flexible, responding to changes in the industry. Alongside this, we felt we could truly make a proper Esports curriculum as opposed to what other awarding bodies provided, which felt slightly like putting together other existing qualifications and therefore did not provide the best fit or opportunities.

Find out more about delivering the Esports course through our Creative Media Production and Technology qualification by contacting the UAL Awarding Body Academic Team at academic.awarding@arts.ac.uk.