The trend of esports, which captures the world more every day, also resonates in the academic life. The "esports scholarship", which we started to see its examples first in the USA, Norway and Sweden last year, is being brought to life by Bahçeşehir University for the first time in Turkey. Esports players who are successful in the League of Legends Turkey Championship and Promotion leagues organized by Riot Games Turkey will be able to receive education scholarship from Bahçeşehir University up to 100%. Young people who want to progress in field of esports will also receive academic and professional support through joint internships and certificate programs offered by the two institutions.
Bahçeşehir University offers new opportunities for university students who dream of a different career path. Bahcesehir University, which has implemented Turkey's first esports scholarship program, is preparing to give esports a different perspective in the near future with its career planning models and certificate programs prepared in this context in cooperation with Riot Games.
TURKEY’S FIRST ACADEMIC ESPORTS SCHOLARSHIP IS FROM BAHÇEŞEHİR UNIVERSITY
Within the scope of the first esports scholarship of Bahçeşehir University in Turkey, successful players who compete in the Championship and Advancement League organized by Riot Games will get a chance to receive educational scholarships of up to 100%, reaching a value of up to 40 thousand TL. In addition, applications coming from Twitch publishers, tournament referees and organizers, social media specialists and content managers in the esports ecosystem will be evaluated by scholarships that will be brought to life through “APPLY BAU”.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Bahcesehir University, Enver Yücel said; "The world is now focusing on the work and the products created by the new generation we call the digital generation. Esports sector has become one of the must haves of this digital generation. We, as Bahçeşehir University, also regard esports as one of the many sports that we support. In this respect, I am pleased to announce that we will provide athletics scholarships to talented players in 2017-18 training period in order to bring this new interest of young people closer to professional and academic mediums. We will become one of the top universities in the world with our initiatives, and we will do our best so that Turkey will be one of the key countries in this field in the world. As BAU, we will provide academic and professional support to young people who want to progress in the field of esports by creating education, internship and certificate programs together with industry leader Riot Games, that can not be found in other institutions. Our top priority is to train talented human resources to the ecosystem of the new world.’’
Hasan Çolakoğlu, Managing Director of Riot Games Emerging Markets, commented on the subject, "As Riot Games, our players are our most important focus. We pay utmost attention to the existence of masses that act within the framework of sports ethics in our entire eco-system, and we sincerely offer all the support we can give to esports initiatives in academic institutions. Our professional league, called League of Legends Turkey Championship League, which includes clubs like Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, is continuing. However, we also care about the potential of players and competitiveness of universities at the same level. We think that Bahçeşehir University, with the esports scholarship it will provide, has brought to life a truly encouraging individual initiative for the esports players of the future. This is a milestone in terms of both being a first in Turkey and the training of new players to succeed in the international arena in the future and successfully representing Turkey in global events.
Commenting on Turkey’s first esports scholarship, Riot Games Turkey Country Manager Bora Koçyiğit said, "It is not easy to make a career abroad with individual opportunities, no matter how successful of an esports player you are. It is an important advantage to be part of a team, an academy, to achieve this. In this process, the support of the academies in terms of providing professional support is very valuable. Bahçeşehir University backing up esports both as an academic club, in terms of scholarships and with an institutional focus, is a factor that will affect the future of esports in Turkey. It is undoubtedly an important development for us as Riot Games that a large academic institution with campuses in many parts of the world is making such a sincere contribution to the world of Esports and "being in the loop"."
A STRONGER ESPORTS CAREER WITH INTERNSHIP AND CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS
Riot Games and Bahçeşehir University provide academic and professional support to young people who want to progress in the field of esports through joint internships and certificate programs that will be brought to life in the new period. Students to be jointly determined by the two institutions will step into the business world in Riot Games’ office for three days a week for at least one semester. With this experience, students also gain academic achievement equal to two courses and a summer internship.
Bahçeşehir University esports ecosystem, which will be on the forefront with its certificate programs, is preparing to bring Shoutcaster and commentating -diction training, tournament refereeing and management, esports business management, coaching - manager training and certification programs to life in the next year. The content and operation of the educational programs to be carried out in the Bahçeşehir University permanent education centers and faculties will also be determined through the cooperation of the two institutions. In addition, online certification programs are among the innovations planned for the new training period.
TR
