The Business of Esports
Students learn the esports industry by building it.
A licensable, university-level program where students learn, build, and run real collegiate esports tournaments, taught by industry practitioners. Three standalone courses: license one, or the full program.
See plans and pricing3
Standalone courses
15
Modules
1
Real tournament
Why universities add an esports business pathway
Students want careers in esports
Demand is high, but few programmes teach how the industry actually works: events, media, sponsorship and teams.
Faculty time is limited
Designing industry-current modules, case studies and assessments from scratch is not realistic for most departments.
Boards need academic rigour
Any new pathway must show clear outcomes, assessment evidence and external quality validation.
What your students learn and build
The Business of Esports is three standalone courses that follow a Learn, Build, Run arc. Each can be licensed on its own. Here is what each one teaches.
STANDALONE COURSE
The Foundation
Learn the business
Every student covers every function of running a competitive event, and each team builds its own complete tournament playbook.
3 credits · 45 hours · 15 weeks
STANDALONE COURSE
The Specialisation
Build the venture
Students specialise into functional tracks and converge their many playbooks into one unified tournament playbook.
3 credits · 45 hours · 15 weeks
STANDALONE COURSE
The Tournament
Run the league
The cohort runs that unified plan as a real, live event, delivered in professional roles and measured against real KPIs.
Flexible: short block, or 15 weeks
A consistent five-step week
Recorded expert lecture
A short lecture from an industry practitioner, watched in class.
Live localising lecture
The local lecturer reinforces it and leads the case discussion.
Knowledge check
Five auto-graded questions through the learning platform.
Team workshop
Two hours of team work producing a real deliverable.
Individual reflection
A short reflection to consolidate the session.
The Specialisation · build the venture
Give every role a real-world outcome.
Team identity, player information and broadcast presentation bring business, media and event operations together.
Operations
Design the competition, then make it work.
Students translate formats, brackets and schedules into a tournament that teams can realistically deliver.
Donut · Radiant Challenger Cup
Images shown are extracts from real student submissions produced by participants at our partner universities.
The capstone
The Tournament · run the league
The delivery course. The cohort runs the unified plan as a real, live event, in professional roles drawn from their specialism, and the event is measured against the KPIs it set for itself. It runs two ways.
A short execution block
A few days to a few weeks
Stages the event as a celebration and showcase of the cohort's work, with a debrief to close.
A full 15-week course
Work-integrated learning
Readiness, the live event, then full post-event analysis, with students in assessed professional roles throughout.
The event takes shape
Students plan the structure, schedule and match flow of a real tournament.
Run the league
Teams compete while students manage operations, media and broadcast.
Case study
Assumption University, Bangkok
85
students enrolled
6
faculties represented
~89%
from outside the host faculty
4.4/5
student quality rating
95.5%
would recommend it
92%
EAF pedagogy score
How it fits into your institution
Consultation
We map the pathway to your programme, credits and term structure.
Faculty onboarding
Lecturers get LMS access, delivery guides and the case study library.
Teach and build
Students learn the industry by working on real cases each week.
Run the tournament
Students plan, run and broadcast a real collegiate tournament.
A learning platform behind every lesson
Faculty delivery guides, case studies and assessments support the classroom experience. Students can continue their learning through Squid Academy's LMS.
Ready for your academic board and IT team
Squid Academy is backed by documented policies covering privacy, security and academic quality, so approval moves quickly.
Privacy-first data
Policies aligned with UK & EU GDPR and FERPA, plus a Data Processing Addendum.
Security you can review
Access control, encryption, monitoring and a documented incident response process.
Academic integrity
Assessment integrity and internal quality assurance policies across every cohort.
Independently validated quality
Our curriculum holds the EAF Certificate of Quality. Squid Academy is a registered AQA Unit Award Scheme centre, and Business of Esports units are in development and submission.
EAF evaluation: Excellent
4.5 / 5
Pedagogical Approach
4.3 / 5
Learning Goals
4.2 / 5
Learner Engagement
4.5 / 5
Credibility
4.4 / 5
Learning Design
BOE
CEFR Aligned
Language & Accessibility Standards
BOE, Business Of Esports
All program materials are written to defined English language standards, calibrated by audience and program level, so that learning stays accessible while delivery remains confident and consistent.
CEFR B1-B2
Student-Facing
eCourse materials, Student Learning Guides, in-class resources
CEFR B2-C1
Teacher-Facing
Lecturer Delivery Guides, Lesson Plans, delivery notes
These standards apply across all modules and phases within the BOE degree pathway, from the Summer Elective through Terms 1 to 3.
Choose how you run it
One price per course. Run it yourself, with our guidance, or as a tailored campus rollout.
Bring it into your classroom
Your faculty teach the programme, with the level of guidance you choose.
Make room for hands-on learning
Connect classroom concepts with practical teamwork and tournament production.
Priced per course, per classroom. The same price for every course.
License
Your team delivers, using our full curriculum, case study library, and platform.
per classroom, up to 30 students
BEST FOR
Universities with a lecturer to deliver in-house.
- Full curriculum and Socratic case study library
- Squid Academy LMS, assessments and reporting
- Recorded industry lectures and delivery guides
- Run independently, at your own pace
Guided
We stay close while your team finds its feet, then step back as you grow self-sufficient.
per classroom, up to 30 students
BEST FOR
Universities new to esports delivery.
- Everything in License
- Scheduled guidance on a tapering cadence
- Implementation and delivery planning
- A named Squid Academy contact
Custom
We bring the people. Squid-certified lecturers and industry mentors, delivering alongside you.
scoped to your goals
BEST FOR
Universities that want us to deliver with them.
- Everything in Guided
- Squid-certified lecturer placed with your cohort
- Real-world enrichment: industry brief, site visit, guest lecturers
- Configured to your timetable, credits, and outcomes
What's Included
| Feature | License | Guided | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curriculum & platform | |||
| Full curriculum, any of the three courses | |||
| Socratic case study library | |||
| Squid Academy LMS access | |||
| Assessments and academic reporting | |||
| Recorded industry lectures | |||
| Delivery documentation | |||
| Guidance & planning | |||
| Scheduled guidance (tapering cadence) | |||
| Implementation and delivery planning | |||
| Named Squid Academy contact | |||
| Staffing & enrichment | |||
| Squid-certified lecturer placed with your cohort | |||
| Real-world enrichment (brief, site visit, guest lecturers) | |||
| Configured to your timetable, credits, and outcomes | |||
Questions deans and faculty ask
Do lecturers need esports experience?
No. Every module includes delivery guides, recorded industry lectures and assessments. The Guided plan adds scheduled support from our team.
Can it be credit-bearing?
Yes. Universities run it as a credit-bearing module, an elective pathway or an extracurricular academy. We help you choose during the consultation.
Do we have to run all three courses?
No. Each course stands alone and is priced the same, so you can start with one and add more later.
What do students need?
Standard computers and internet access for the coursework. Tournament requirements depend on the games you choose.
See how it would work at your university
A 30-minute call with our team covering curriculum, delivery and pricing.
