Mentioned in this article
- Team India, the Indian representative at the Overwatch World Cup, will bootcamp at Harrisburg University before the tournament.
- The partnership will include an exchange program along with coordinated bootcamps at Global Esports’ training facilities and weekend game-a-thons at Harrisburg University.
- Global Esports will help to make Harrisburg University’s esports degree available across India and Asia.
Global Esports (GE) and Harrisburg University (HU) have announced a partnership that aims to bridge the gap between collegiate and professional esports.
GE will be fronting the effort to take Team India to the Overwatch World Cup due to take place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, in November. As part of the newly announced partnership, Team India will travel to HU to train under the guidance of former Philadelphia Fusion player, Joe “Joemeister” Gramano.
“This partnership will provide opportunities that will benefit both aspiring esports athletes and pro players alike,” mentions Chad Smeltz, director of esports, Harrisburg University. “It will kick off with Global Esports bringing their Overwatch World Cup Team from India to Harrisburg University’s state-of-the-art practice facilities to bootcamp and train before the tournament.”.
The partnership will also include an exchange program with coordinated bootcamps at GE training facilities and weekend game-a-thons at HU. GE will also collaborate with HU to help make its esports degree (faculty, lectures, assistance in curriculum, masterclasses and workshops) available across India and Asia. This will be followed by collegiate esports events and tournaments hosted for HU in India. GE will also help HU to scout for collegiate level talent across the Asian region starting with India.
“We have been keen to expand our reach to North America for some time now and Harrisburg was the clear choice,” said Rushindra Sinha, co-founder of Global Esports. “This is the first time a partnership between a university and an Esports Organization is being forged. We are keen to partner with Harrisburg University as they are the primary disruptors of the educational system in this domain.”
In 2017, the Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation in Malaysia announced an esports academy to train upcoming esports athletes.
In August, Global Esports raised an undisclosed amount of investment via a seed funding round with Venture Catalysts.
Nishant Patel is a writer for and the co-founder of AFK Gaming, where this article first appeared.
