Session Description
During the summer of 2021, UH Mānoa's (UHM) esports program partnered with Activision-Blizzard, one of the largest video games companies in the world, to produce a series of tournaments during a time when COVID-19 had prevented a return to full-scale global events. Through the 20 internships created, UHM students shadowed the OWL crew, learning the skills required to run a league that included setting up the competition spaces for professional teams to play, running through the games’ integrity checks to keep competitions fair, and taking part in helping create content for the global broadcast of the league.
Presenter(s)
Dr. Nyle Sky Kauweloa
E-Sports
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Dr. Nyle S. Kauweloa, director of UH Esports, created one of the earliest esports-related college courses in the United States in 2018. (UH Esports was awarded the best collegiate esports program in North America at the Las Vegas Esports Awards in December 2022.) His research focuses on the lived experiences of college esports players to understand how student-players negotiate multiple demands, pressures, and expectations they have of themselves as students.