AcadArena, the Philippines’ leading campus esports initiative, is proud to be partnering with Globe Telecom and Amazon’s Twitch to level up student gaming programs across the country for the second year in a row.
AcadArena will be pioneering several new projects for 2020, most notably the Alliance Program, where they will be working closely with select partner schools and student organizations to develop them into the model of what campus esports can be. AcadArena is expecting 400 schools to be a part of its various programs throughout 2020 — which will be online for most of the part to accommodate for the current climate.
Founded by Ariane Lim (former head of Garena Collegiate) and Justin Banusing (esports coordinator for the University of Washington), AcadArena emphasizes education and career development on top of competition to foster character growth and career development no matter the course.
In the past year, the initiative has:
- Engaged with over 250 schools through competitive, community and educational events to bring campus esports to the forefront.
- Sent students to represent the Philippines in international events like the International E-Culture Festival in Korea and the World University Cyber Games in China.
- Provided paid work opportunities and grants for 80+ students serving as staff for on-site events.
- Hosted the first Nexus Gamecraft and Esports Expo 2019, a first-of-its-kind campus convention at the Far Eastern University – Institute of Technology.
- Garnered a live attendance of 7,500 attendees for CONQuest Festival 2019, the national finals of its collegiate league and the largest annual pop culture event in the Visayas.
“The team at AcadArena are doing incredible work,” said Kevin Hoang of Twitch Student. “We’re proud to continue working alongside them to help students unlock educational opportunities through gaming and esports.”
Staying true to its #NotJustPlay slogan, schools and organizations in the AcadArena Alliance Program will receive hands-on training and development support to ensure that their students have a headstart in the esports, gaming, and new media industries. It features a star-tier system, with campuses receiving perks and rewards the further they develop.
“The mere existence of AcadArena and their programs for the campus esports scene allowed LG Esports to really grow as an org and as a community in Ateneo,” said Kenneth Alog of Ateneo de Manila University’s LG Esports. “They’ve just had years of experience in the campus scene. Working with them helped us understand how esports can improve student life.”
LG Esports is just one of many organizations set to join the Alliance program. They’re joined by University of the Philippines’ Oblation Esports, Far Eastern University – Institute of Technology’s JPCS and their iTamaraws, University of San Agustin’s SAGE Esports, West Visayas State University Esports, iAcademy’s Nimbus Esports, Malayan Colleges Laguna’s Malayan Esports Club — among others still completing their requirements.
To supplement the Alliance Program, AcadArena will be holding several competitive and educational programs over the summer. Dubbed ‘Summer Quarter’, these include:
Educational
- BoostCamp: A monthly series of online masterclasses/workshops hosted by mentors to hone students’ skillsets.
- Alliance Awards: Students who work in the backend get their own competition. The best projects and organizations in the Alliance Program will be rewarded at the end of the year.
- Quest-based Learning: An ever-evolving set of online developmental modules in different disciplines (streaming, art, league operations) for students to engage with.
Competitive
- Alliance League: A 10-week multi-title varsity-style league with scholarships and project grants at stake for schools in the Alliance Program
- Etrams: A support system for tournaments held by student organizations.
- Rivalries: A monthly series of relay matches that has two universities with opposing storylines competing for cash and prizes.
- Aces: A weekly series of tournaments open to teams from any school with a rotating line-up of games.
“AcadArena always thinks of ways on how video games and esports can be relevant to student life,” said AcadArena director Ariane Lim. “Now, more than ever, institutions are looking for online solutions to education. We’re united with them at that front. By giving a platform for students to network through competition and do extracurricular activities in events management, broadcasting and design.”
The majority of AcadArena Summer Quarter will begin rolling out on June 15, with the Alliance League set to launch mid-July. For updates, follow AcadArena on Facebook, Twitter and the Official Website.