More traditional sports stakeholders, more mainstream news outlets, and even more higher education institutions, everyone wants a slice of esports in 2018.
Kajaani University of Applied Sciences (KAMK) has announced that come autumn of this year, it will offer a bachelor’s degree in esports business. This is the first such specialised esports business degree worldwide. Would be students can find out more and apply here, though they should note that the joint application process is open now and ends on 24th January.
Janus Pitkänen, Head of the Esports Business degree at Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, said of the decision: “The aim of the new degree is to produce eSports professionals and to generate new business in this area. eSports is a rapidly growing market environment and with this degree we hope to meet the increasing demand for experts in this field.
“The degree is taught completely in English and it is intended that about half of our students will come from abroad. We are not training players but electronic sports business experts.”
The focus of the Esports Business degree will be ‘international business studies that are facilitated from an esports perspective’. The press release also notes that those who graduate with a degree in Esports Business, will be able to specialise in event management, game development or coaching, as per their own interests.
KAMK is already a part of the country’s thriving esports and gaming sector. Game developers such as Critical Force, the company behind the mobile FPS title Critical Ops, are based in Kajaani, whilst Supercell, the dev behind Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, is based in Helsinki. Supercell was bought out by Tencent in 2016 but the headquarters remain in Finland. You can read more about Finland’s gaming and esports sector here.
Kajaani University’s latest move with its commitment to its new Esports Business degree should help ensure that industry talent comes to and stays in Finland, and that the country continues to be something of a global leader in game development.
Esports Insider says: Finland has a well established game development community, with the likes of Critical Force and Supercell based in Kajaani and Helsinki respectively. KAMK’s commitment to esports and this new business degree offering, especially with it being fully taught in English, should help to ensure that a new pool of talent is fostered in the Finnish town.