How AIM Qualifications and Overworld Academy are helping to professionalise the world of esport
6 July 2022
What is esport
Electronic sports or esports refers to competitive video games in which individuals or teams compete. It began to gain popularity in the gaming community in the early 2000s and in 2018, around 395 million people around the world were involved. During this time, esports began to be recognised as a sporting activity in which players can develop and train their mental skills and hand-eye coordination.
Esports tournaments are now well established and organised with rules, systems, gameplay, evaluation, and broadcasting similar to more traditional sporting events. Esport generates a source of employment for both the players and for those organising, running and promoting tournaments.
Qualifications
AIM was pleased to be invited to take part in conversations with employers through the UKIE esports subgroup to look at professionalising the industry and as a result, the AIM Qualifications Level 3 Award in eSports Business and Industry Knowledge and the Level 3 Extended Award in eSports Business, Industry Knowledge and Tournament Organisation were developed. These qualifications provide an opportunity for people to develop and demonstrate knowledge of the esports industry and the skills to organise and manage tournaments.
Delivering the qualifications
In this centre spotlight, we feature the Overworld Academy, an approved AIM centre and part of the Overworld Studios streaming organisation in Camberly. Overworld deliver the AIM qualifications via their esports gaming centre and online. Students have the opportunity to learn within an industry trading esports environment and also have the opportunity to get involved with global esports tournaments as part of their program of study. They also receive mentoring from Social Influencer and Call of Duty streamer Nitro Luke DX.
Find out more
To deliver AIM qualifications your centre must be an approved AIM centre, a straightforward process found on our website
For more information about the qualification, download the qualifications specification
Visit the Overworld Academy website to learn more about this forward thinking and contemporary AIM centre.
