By Ulises Rodriguez, Staff Reporter
Speculation about an eSports certificate program at California State University, Dominguez Hills is now a reality.
On April 21, an email was sent on behalf of the Extended Education College of Extended and International Education to all faculty and staff at CSUDH to announce the introduction of an eSports certificate program. A series of Zoom video conferences are scheduled throughout May and June for faculty who want to learn more about the certificate program.
The purpose of these conferences is of importance to educate faculty on what eSports is and how it will run on day-to-day education at CSUDH.
“Information sessions will provide the next stages in pursuing your professional development. The meeting shall answer eSports questions and engage you in the esports spirit,” reads the flyer sent out to faculty.
The certificate program will be offered online and marks the first official step of the university stepping into the burgeoning world of eSports, which is a $1 billion dollar industry worldwide, and $100 million academically.
Upon completion of the program, each staff member will receive a certificate and a Digital Badge award.
The program is structured as a 4 module course which faculty will take at their own pace, and once they complete the modules they will receive the certificate award.
The program is set to begin on June 26 and ends on August 14. The program is structured as a 4 module course which faculty will take at their own pace, and once they complete the modules they will receive the certificate award.
The importance of this program is meant to have the faculty at CSUDH better prepared for the eSports related topics that will begin to arrive in classrooms by next school year.There has also been more of a push for eSports related classes from students at CSUDH. Under the supervision of Dr. Thomas Norman, MGT 495 students Jamie Sharp, Christina Carrillo, and Jazmine Lopez have created a survey that was sent out to each student to record whether there is student interest to expand the eSports program.
At the end of the semester, the information that is acquired from the survey will be shared with President Thomas Parham.
Future professionals could even potentially lead the eSports industry into a whole new area or aspect that no one knew could be done.
This is why it is vital that each person that has ever picked up a controller takes the survey and keeps pushing to grow the eSports culture on campus.
As the number of people interested in eSports grows, the higher the number of faculty will begin to invest their time in eSports and expand the number of classes offered, which involve eSports and gaming.
