Innovation & Events

Girls Who Game

UNCG Esports is working with Dell Technology’s Girls Who Game program, Girls Who Game “provides an opportunity for underserved students across North America to learn about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through gaming. The players learn such skills as computational and critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, and innovation. The players are empowered to become leaders in STEM related fields.” UNCG Esports launched a chapter of Girls Who Game in Spring 2024, working closely with Guilford County Schools through UNCG’s Institute for Partnerships in Education (IPIE). Members of the UNCG Gaming and Esports Club will act as mentors. Six schools participated in Spring of 2024, with hopefully more to come in Fall of 2024.

E2 Weekend

In collaboration with Epic Games, UNCG hosted two E2 Weekends. E2 Weekends in￾clude a competitive esports piece, and an educational Unreal Engine piece, conceptualized as a formal Game Jam. For the E2 Weekend this past Spring, an Esports Career & Entrepreneurship Summit was included. Game Jams are events in which participants are expected to create a complete video game in a short amount of time. Students succeeded in this and published their work on the Fortnite Marketplace for people all around the world to play. Each E2 Weekend consisted of a tournament for North Carolina high school and college students, referred to as a ‘Spartan Clash.’ Players registered, played in an online quali￾fier, and then traveled to UNCG’s Esports Arena and Learning Lab to participate in the in-person (LAN) finals. Players from all over the state participated in the event.

Many people are channeling their enthusiasm for video games and esports into careers in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM at a time when the field is experiencing massive growth. The UNCG Esports Career and Entrepreneurship Summit showcased the finals of the Spartan Clash featuring Rocket League, and then had a highly accomplished panel shared their personal and educational experiences and provided insight and tips on how other individuals can use their skills to pursue a career in the video game and esports industry or create a video game and/or esports company. Open to students, faculty, staff, and the community, the UNCG Esports Career and Entrepreneurship Summit was a wonderful opportunity for those individuals who have considered turning their love of video games into career and entrepreneurship opportunities in the video game and esports ecosystem or the STEM field more broadly.

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