E-sports course offered in Phl university

As the spread of e-sports gains momentum across diverse arenas, the Lyceum Philippine University offers a bachelor's in E-sports making the field of gaming transition to a professional career.

LPU opened its very first e-sports laboratory and arena, where students can play computer games even while the professor is giving a lecture.

Emmanuel Punongbayan, director of LPU-Manila OC ICT Affairs, said that they teach students how to navigate values on the internet.

"For the internet. We weren't taught how to navigate values on the internet back in the '90s. Here, we will teach them," Punongbayan said.

Matthew Apilado, an enrollee of the E-Sports course said that his parent's views on gaming have now changed.

"My parents, they say that gaming is okay with them now. But before, when I was a child, of course, they saw gaming as a big hindrance when it comes to education because the time you should be reviewing, you spend playing," he said.

Matthew's hobby has unexpectedly turned into a career opportunity and instrument for him to establish his own company even while he is studying.

"Am I securing my future? Yes. But as for the money, of course, it's there, you know, it's enough to get by. I'm able to protect my people, to put food on their table," he said.

Aside from playing, the first BS E-sports course in the Philippines is being taught for people who want to build or design their own games or for those who want to have a career in sports production and management.

"When you see the E-sports ecosystem, it is central to the player but as you can see, there's a lot of people who's working on the back, especially in the event. E-sports is a growing industry. We believe that as a university, we should cater this gap, that there's really a need to work on the backend of e-sports," LPU Manila Dean of the College of Technology Dr. Arlene Caballero said.

E-sports also now has its own category in some sporting events.