British university esports tournament organiser National Student Esports (NSE) has extended its partnership with US-based technology giant Intel for a fourth consecutive year.
Intel will remain the lead partner for the British University Esports Championship, NSE’s official university esports competition. The chip manufacturer will also continue to support students looking to earn a career in esports through NSE’s Intel FutureGen programme, now in its third year.
The programme has already given 20 university students the opportunity to speak to industry leaders such as Twitch Global Head of Brand Partnerships Adam Harris and British freelance esports host Su Collins.
The organisations will also continue with the ‘Event in a Box’ scheme, which saw Intel PCs loaned to societies alongside peripherals to enable societies to hold their own LANs and competitive tournaments without using their own hardware.
The extension will help NSE fulfil one of its original goals: to provide gaming employment opportunities to the university esports community. NSE still doesn’t charge students to compete in leagues, a business model starkly contrasting many university sporting counterparts.
NSE has had success acquiring partners for this year alone, extending its deal with Nintendo UK, and working with esports and gaming career site Hitmarker to help provide ‘suitable entry points into the industry’.
In a release, Alex Coulson, Managing Director of NSE, commented that he believes adding value to the student experience is essential. As such, NSE will collaborate with Intel on more projects throughout the coming university year.
Mark Walton, EMEA Graphics and Gaming Comms Manager, stated: “Supporting grassroots talent and the student community is at the heart of our esports strategy, which is why we’re delighted to continue our partnership with NSE.
“Continuing with the Intel FutureGen programme, which has seen so much success already, and being the headline partner for the British University Esports Championship, we’re excited to see what university esports has in store for us this year.”
Smaller Intel community initiatives will continue as normal from September, such as giveaways of Intel merchandise and games.
