And no, you do not have to leave the country

In the past few years, e-Sports has grown into a full-fledged industry, full of players, viewers and supporters. But while Filipino gamers have claimed rank in different leagues, the pool of internationally-noted players is not a big one. This is likely to change soon enough, as The University Of The Visayas New School now offers a course on e-Sports and game development.

“We’ll have game strategy for Dota 2 and we will have game design and development animation and 2D and 3D animation, and of course, game creation,” founder and school director Genesis Raña told SunStar. “After two years, the students can either choose to be game creators, designers, or e-sports players in the professional league.”

The core subjects will include theory, mechanics, strategy and game awareness. Beyond this, students will also learn about game design, branding, shoutcasting and even entrepreneurship. So for those of you that want to get into and learn about the e-Sports world but are a little hesitant, there really is no need to be. The course is a holistic program and students will learn skills that are very much in demand in the tech industry.

While the shot of learning strategy and proper gameplay is in itself an exciting one, the real kicker with the program is that students have the chance to be mentored by the top Dota 2 teams in the Philippines. Currently, the list includes TNC and Mineski.

Before UVNS announced its plan to launch an e-Sports-centric course, the university was already being recognized by some of the biggest names in tech. In May 2016, it was recognized by Apple for its innovation, leadership and educational excellence. Just two months after that, Power Mac Center partnered up with UVNS.

Think e-Sports is in your future? Click here to check for further updates.