It has evolved immensely to include academic programming, enhanced club participation and using esports as a recruitment and retention tool. We are finding opportunities to engage in ways that weren’t previously there. The evolution includes what games are being played, how many scholarships are being offered, the types of facilities being constructed and also community and student engagement.
Now we’re getting into the academic programs as well, including full-blown academic majors, graduate programs, certificates, minors and more.
ROURKE: We’ve definitely seen esports and competitive gaming become much more accepted in higher education overall. We’re having fewer discussions about “Why would we ever do this?” and more discussions about “How do we do this, and how do we make sure it aligns with our educational objectives, as well as the needs of our student body?”
EDTECH: What role does state-of-the-art equipment play in a competitive program?
GAWRYSIAK: We want to make sure we always have the fastest and the best equipment for our gamers, PCs in particular. We need to keep up with the processing power that’s needed at the highest level of competition.
In our facility here, we just did a refresh with Lenovo Legion equipment to make sure we had that higher processing power, the high refresh rate on the monitors. We want to make sure that their ping rate is as low as possible, so that our students don’t have a disadvantage — that they have the best chance possible to compete.
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With the Lenovo Legion line, they’re able to compete with the highest refresh rate possible, no screen blur and no motion blur. We have hardwired internet into all our machines to make sure that their ping rate is as low as possible. This equipment allows us to play at the highest level.
ROURKE: Devices like Lenovo Legion also allow give colleges and universities the flexibility to use their labs and the equipment they are purchasing for multiple purposes.
That often drives easier acceptance and approval from administrators and budgetary bodies because they can take that same equipment that they’re purchasing for esports and use it for career and technical education. They can do architecture, statistics and higher-level computing research. Devices like the Lenovo Legion give them that flexibility.