- PC maker Acer has teamed up with private school Curro to host a three-day esports event where students got to play and took advantage of learning opportunities provided by gaming.
- Acer country manager Glen du Toit says that esports can teach people lessons and values they can take into their studies.
- This recent event is part of a larger partnership between Acer and Curro where Acer provides servers for Curro’s esports teams to use.
According to PC maker Acer, gaming is more than just entertainment. Recently the tech brand teamed up with South African digital-focused private school Curro to host a three-day esports indaba to not only play games, but to unpack the learning opportunities that gaming can provide.
The Curro eSports Indaba was held between 17th and 19th April and it was funded by Acer as part of its Acer for Education initiative. The meet brought together experts from the gaming, esports and education fields at the Protea Hotel in Stellenbosch, and the ATK Arena in Claremont, Western Cape.
Delegates participated in presentations and events such as keynotes delivered by Microsoft engagement manager Stephen Reid, Goliath Gaming’s operations and team manager Thulani Sishi, and online marketing guru Gill Attwood.
Speakers at the event covered a host of topics around South Africa’s esports industry, such as:
- “Coaching esports at different school and professional levels,
- Mindful coaching and team management,
- Tournament planning,
- Streaming and Shoutcasting,
- Future of esports in South Africa, and
- eSports and the modern workplace.”
“Video games are about much more than having fun,” says Glenn du Toit, country manager at Acer, in a press release sent to Hypertext.
“Esports, in particular, can teach people lessons and values that they take with them into their studies, their interactions with others and even into their future workplaces. Curro puts a lot of effort into esports as an extracurricular activity and relies on Acer to deliver reliable and safe online spaces for their learners.”
Acer has been Curro’s eSport partner since 2022, providing technical support such as maintaining the servers which Curro’s learners use, and providing sponsorship, including the African Cyber Gaming League (ACGL) licence that designates Curro’s players as official eSports competitors.
In March, Acer and Curro hosted the first Curro Crash LAN event of 2023 where more than 200 players gathered to compete in games such Minecraft Education: Capture the Flag, Dota 2, Overwatch 2 and Rocket League.
[Image – Provided]
