For the first time in the organization’s history, NASEF, together with International Esports Federation (IESF), hosted The World Academic Workshop at the 2022 World Esports Championships in Bali, Indonesia.

NASEF’s workshops consisted of three career-oriented, educational sessions, led by NASEF’s executive leadership team of Jorrel Batac, Claire LaBeaux, and Gerald Solomon. The sessions were designed to advance core skills and further understanding of the potential career paths and opportunities available to gamers and others in the esports ecosystem. All workshops incorporated NASEF’s core values of learning, opportunity, community, diversity, and respect. 

“As esports becomes the fastest growing sport in the world, NASEF’s mission is to provide the growing esports community the skills to transition into related career fields,” said NASEF executive director Gerald Solomon. “By developing STEAM-based skills and team-oriented social-emotional attributes such as communication, collaboration and problem-solving, esports players are developing viable skills that will serve as a future career advantage.”

Free and open to all attending the World Esports Championships, NASEF’s workshops consisted of: 

• Dynamics of Successful Esports Coaching,” a series of sessions focused on building team leadership skills, based on the NASEF x Skillshot Coaching Certification Course, currently adopted by member federations around the world
• “Launching and Sustaining an Esports Club and Team,” which led attendees step-by-step towards forming a high-performance esports club
• “Career Pathways Through Esports,” designed to transition passion for esports into relevant career opportunities

Added Claire LaBeaux, Chief Marketing Officer for NASEF, “It is important for players to understand all aspects of the ecosystem in order to thrive in the working environment. The athletes at the World Esports Championships are all top in their game now, but many haven’t yet considered how they’ll connect their skills and knowledge to the next step in their careers.”

Workshop attendees came from more than 60 countries around the world and gave enthusiastic feedback for the sessions. 

Rosa Moualek of Algeria said, “The workshops were very fun and engaging, and it helped participants discover new career opportunities in esports - one person from our team who's been in esports for a few years said that she didn't know that there were so many options, and she's considering new paths. Thank you NASEF for the hard work!”

Noura Mohammed of Egypt shared: “I loved to be with you guys, you taught me well and you had a big smile that made me feel that, oh wow! There are some people who support the players; but NASEF supports everyone. NASEF doesn’t see whether I'm a girl or I'm a boy. Instead, they gave me all the advice and all the information I needed. You taught me, you gave me the first step to do things the right way. I learned the right way to work in esports and NASEF inspired me to reach my goal to be in esports. My advice to all the students: Take all the information from here and build your career and don’t waste your time. Esports is a very beautiful field to work in. It’s inspiring, it’s good, fun, and competitive.” 

Said Kwesi Hayford of Ghana, “It was a fun learning experience, especially the session where we had to develop our own esports school tournament and create a logo.”

First time attendee Melissa Burns from Canada, said: “Nothing could have prepared us for the experience of the World Esports Championships. With more than 105 countries competing across four stage venues, it was a true celebration of drive, passion, talent, competition, culture, and community. What surprised me personally was the number of educators and folks in the esports space who were genuinely interested in how to best support student development through esports. It wasn’t just about producing top gamers, but supporting the holistic development of students through the use of game-based learning. The academic workshops hosted by NASEF provided us all with the opportunity to learn about how esports were being used in schools across the globe and develop a network of like-minded professionals who understand the value of esports in schools. It was humbling and awe-inspiring to hear the diverse perspectives and experiences within the group, and brought my own position of privilege into perspective. I look forward to continuing these conversations over the coming months and years, and intentionally leveraging the work and advantages awarded to me here in Canada to better support those in other spaces by uplifting their work and sharing their accomplishments. Esports transcends borders in such unique ways, and the opportunity to develop our global capacity for empathy and connection is one we all continue to champion in this space.”

The executive team at NASEF will be leading applicable esports education and career sessions again at the upcoming World Esports Championships to be held in Romania in August 2023.