Bringing esports industry knowledge into schools

The Open University and leading educational esports company, EStars, are collaborating to offer online training for teachers, aimed at enhancing their knowledge and expertise in the fast-growing esports sector.

According to Precedence Research, the global esports market size was calculated at USD 6.61 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach around USD 48.09 billion by 2034. SQ Magazine shared that the global viewership for esports was 435 million people in 2020 and is projected to reach 641 million in 2025. Now more profitable than the music and film industries combined, the esports sector continues to gain momentum as one of the fastest-growing entertainment markets worldwide¹.

The rapid growth has meant a huge surge in interest amongst young people interested in embarking on a career in the sector – which includes careers in areas such as marketing, public relations, game development, event management and much more.

Filling a key need in the industry

EStars was founded in 2017 by experienced sports executive, qualified lawyer and award-winning entrepreneur, Mags Byrne. EStars began its journey by planning, managing and overseeing all aspects of live esports events and tournaments across Europe, before identifying a critical need for formal education and qualifications within this emerging global industry. EStars currently operates in three continents.

The company now primarily focuses on addressing the educational challenges faced within esports. Leveraging its extensive experience in all aspects of esports, EStars has developed a unique suite of accredited educational qualifications for students from the age of 10 right through to 18. These programmes are designed to equip the next generation of business professionals in the sector. By participating in these qualifications, young people can benefit from the guidance of esports professionals with hands-on experience.

Chaitali Patel, Head of Prospects at The Open University (OU) said: “Mags was someone we approached to become an entrepreneur in residence at the OU, to support budding entrepreneurs that are part of our Open Business Creators community.

As the relationship grew, we realised that the OU’s positioning as a global leader in online education was ideal to help EStars in its quest to grow skills, knowledge and awareness within the key audience of schoolteachers, where knowledge of the sector can be a challenge.

Chaitali Patel
Head of Prospects at The Open University

Working in partnership to deliver learning

The Open University’s OpenLearn Create platform was the ideal solution to build a global, online CPD course for teachers to become trained in esports. While accumulating CPD hours, participants watch videos, read articles and complete quizzes to help them better understand the sector and the opportunities that lie within it for their students.

Mags Byrne, CEO of EStars said: “There can be a perception that esports is simply based around playing videos games, but opportunities are so much wider. The sector is growing at a rapid rate internationally and all manner of roles and career pathways are out there for talented people – but they need to be supported by schools.

Our goal is to establish ourselves as the premier and most renowned provider of educational esports globally. This partnership utilises the reach and capabilities of the OU with our own unique specialisms and I am really excited about this new course, which is the first of its kind globally, and seeing how our partnership can evolve further.

Mags Byrne
CEO of EStars

^1. https://www.marketing-beat.co.uk/2024/10/22/dentsu-gaming-data-new/