CEE Esports Report is a fortnightly series covering the Central and Eastern Europe region, written by Esports Insider’s esports business media partner Esport1 CEE.
This CEE Esports Report takes a look at what high schools and universities in the Central & Eastern Europe region offer for those chasing an esports education.
As esports is becoming more attractive as a career to pursue, educational institutions are opening towards the next generation of students with various competitive gaming-related projects.
Several universities are already offering esports degrees in the UK, while others are focusing on organising competitions for students. In the CEE region, universities are behind when it comes to courses, but there are signs indicating progress.
In Poland, teachers are taught about esports
Despite dedicated esports degrees still missing from the menu of universities in the region, some high schools are already focused on esports education. As a formal supplement to the curriculum, close to 50 Polish secondary schools offer a comprehensive esports educational programme for those who imagine their future in the field of IT.
Prepared by the Polish Esports Association (ESA), more than 250 teachers can pass on knowledge from eight textbooks in various fields from game development to esports, with complementary projects like remote training in esports games.
Budapest’s alternative school for sportspeople
Alternative School for Sportsman (SAS) is a high school for those who need a unique time schedule due to their professional sports activities. The school also has esports programmes to offer, where youngsters can learn about coaching, marketing, esports law or investment.
The school’s vision is to provide opportunities to its students to start their career in the gaming and competitive industries.
University esport competitions are mainstream
While degrees are mostly absent, extra-curricular esports is prevalent in the CEE region. The K&H University Esports Cup in Hungary last year presented a 3,000,000 HUF (~£6900) total prize pool Cup for students of the eight participating Hungarian universities.
Running since 2018, ERBUD University Esports – EDU, part of Amazon University Esports, involves 40 Polish universities across the country competing in League of Legends and CS:GO.
In Croatia, the Student Esports Tournament features 16 teams from institutions that teach electrical engineering, computing and other IT courses, and acts as a qualifier for international collegiate competitions such as Amazon University Esports and UniRocketeers. Meanwhile, UniCup, UNI MSR and Esport Liga Vysokých škol provide numerous opportunities and some prize money for students of Slovak and Czech universities to show their skills.
