The Morayfield State High School Esports Academy is an innovative STEM extension program that uses students’ interest in gaming and esports to develop skills required for future study, employment and emerging industries. Esports is much more than playing games; students explore the technology, media, business, health and creative industries that operate behind competitive gaming. Using links with universities, industry and esports organisations, students build skills in communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving while exploring potential pathways into areas such as game development, cybersecurity, digital media, broadcasting, marketing, performance analysis and esports management.
Students can expect to design, create, analyse and compete throughout the program. Learning experiences include designing and coding original games and applications, investigating cybersecurity and digital footprints, producing game reviews, developing advertising and social media campaigns, analysing player and game performance, and learning the skills of live esports broadcasting and shoutcasting. Students also investigate the physical and mental demands of competitive esports, developing an understanding of teamwork, strategy, wellbeing and high-performance environments. As students progress through the Academy, projects become increasingly authentic, including opportunities to collaborate with Australian game developers and tertiary partners to develop, test and refine industry-informed digital products.
Being part of the Esports Academy also means becoming an active member of the Morayfield State High School esports community, and leadership team. Academy students are expected to participate in tournaments, esports galas, competitions and other extracurricular opportunities where they can represent the school, work as part of a team and put their skills into practice. Whether a student wants to become a competitive player, game developer, programmer, content creator, commentator, designer, marketer or simply wants to understand where their passion for gaming could take them, the Esports Academy provides an exciting environment in which they can play with purpose, create with technology and develop skills for their future.