Harrisburg University announces esports summer camp

Harrisburg University announced the institution will be holding a summer esports camp for high school students next week. The goal of the camp will be to improve skills in esports and gain a strategic advantage in games like League of Legends, Overwatch and Hearthstone. The “Esports Immersion Bootcamp” will give an overview of the esports industry and teach about future career opportunities in esports management, production and entertainment.

Harrisburg University’s Esports Program Director, Chad Smeltz

Chad Smeltz, Harrisburg University’s Esports Program Director explained: “Many players don’t know where to start and what it takes to get to the next level in gaming. We’re offering a summer camp that shows multiple facets of professional gaming. Esports are just like regular sports, and there is a multitude of levels, opportunities and careers that we can teach to younger players.”

These summer camps come right off the heels of Harrisburg University’s collaboration with ReKT Global and announcing it’s collegiate esports program along with membership of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE). This will be HU’s first and only varsity sports program and will offer 15 full athletic scholarships this fall in games like League of Legends, Hearthstone and Overwatch. 

Dr. Eric Darr, President of Harrisburg University stated: “We approach collegiate esports as a melding of academics with gameplay. Our students have the opportunity to pursue degrees in today’s sought-after STEM industries while training under world-ranked coaches. Our players are always students first. Our coaches teach knowledge needed by the students to succeed in their degree as well as skills in gameplay to be a well-rounded player.”

Harrisburg University certainly has a strong dedication to the video game industry as other summer camps included are “Exploring Video Game Development” and “Video Game Design”. These camps take place on the Harrisburg University campus in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania June 18-22.

Esports Insider says: Harrisburg University is known for its offerings in STEM and it only makes sense for it to fully invest in an industry like esports. This is a great opportunity for high school students to learn about the industry and how they can take their passion to the next level. It will be interesting to see if other institutions or even gaming companies follow suit in the same fashion.