To get ahead of the esports trend as it proliferates, Skoltech decided to team up with Game Enders to build the Skoltech Esports Academy (SEA). 

Launched in late 2017, the SEA is an esports university training program with no parallel in Russia or Eastern Europe.

For Skoltech, this presents the opportunity to forge into uncharted technological territories and falls in line with its mission to foster an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship.

“The Skoltech Esports Academy will facilitate the development of various gaming technologies, such as team interactions in virtual reality (VR), visualizations in VR, novel approaches to coding and efficient cloud computing technologies,” said Skoltech Endowment Foundation Director Ivan Khlebnikov.

He noted that the SEA will provide ample opportunities for Skoltech students and researchers to put theories into practice in fields ranging from information technology (IT) to applied mathematics to education.

“These practical applications have the potential to generate ideas that will lead to the creation of startups by Skoltech students and researchers – startups that could drive competition in the Russian and global markets, and to cement Russia’s status as a global leader in technology and education,” Khlebnikov said.

Professor Dzmitry Tsetserukou, head of Skoltech’s Intelligent Space Robotics Laboratory, is equally optimistic about the Skoltech Esports Academy.

“I think it will boost Skoltech’s IT, VR and Haptic technologies,” he said.

Tsetserukou also believes that the academy has the potential to become a center for computer game development. “Importantly, SEA researchers and students will be able to introduce novel VR and augmented reality (AR) human-computer interfaces and haptic technologies and see the effect on the game experience.”