Bond University to unveil state-of-the-art competitive video game facility

A Gold Coast university wants some of its students to spend hours playing video games. But they have a very good reason.

Bond University Vice Chancellor and President, Tim Brailsford at the new eSports Hub.

A GOLD Coast university has ditched the books for video games with a major investment in high-performance eSports.

Bond University will this weekend unveil their new state-of-the-art competitive video game facility during its annual Open Day on Saturday.

Located in the heart of the university, the hub has been equipped with 12 high-performance gaming machines, a training and coaching facility for analysis and strategy and the ability to stream to Bond’s 500-seat theatre for an audience.

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Bond University Vice Chancellor and President, Tim Brailsford at the new eSports Hub.

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Vice Chancellor and President Professor Tim Brailsford said the innovation was about being ahead of the curve.

“Esports has taken the world by storm. Who would have thought that in less than a decade we would now have professional competitions, global audiences, global leagues, and games and activities of all types, all the way from simulation around physical sport through to high-level strategic thinking games,” Prof Brailsford said.

“I am very pleased with what we are doing here and as we have progressed from the physical to the virtual.

“This is very much consistent with the ideology of Bond University, which is why we must always be highly engaged in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the digital era.”

Bond’s Director of eSports James Birt said the program is far from a bludge, and will instead be part of an experience similar to any other part of the elite sporting program.

“Initially it is about having the facility to enable the high-performance sporting aspect and the ability to train at an elite level,” Mr Brit said.

“The ultimate goal would be for this to be a hub for high school students to come in and train and be part of the Bond community, be able to use it as an experience and pipeline to show that exports and gaming is a pipeline into higher education.”

The university has already received inquiries from professional teams.