Courses, esports competitions, and the possibility of creating careers associated with gaming has come with the new announcement of UCAB’s Gaming Hub.
As we have commented here at Game Freaks 365, the past of the video game industry in Venezuela has been complicated. The complicated economic situation of the country has deprived many Venezuelans of acquiring gaming consoles and PCs. Even so, the passion and desire of the country’s inhabitants for the gaming movement has made it evolve in many aspects.
The magnitude of this movement has made large international companies and well-known institutions in the country start betting on it. Recently, one of the most respected universities in the country, the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (UCAB), has started to invest in gaming. They have created an on-campus gaming hub that has opened a possibility for all those video game fans to educate themselves in areas of the industry.
A massive digital evolution that has yielded good results
Six years ago, Venezuela was going through one of the most difficult economic periods the nation has ever faced. Food shortages, low household income, and daily growing inflation caused a huge negative impact. One of the most affected areas was, without a doubt, the digital area. For the Venezuelan, it was impossible to get the latest iPhone, the latest PC on the market, or opt for next-generation consoles.
This made many Venezuelans opt for technology from five or even 10 years ago for their entertainment. The market for sixth and seventh-generation consoles increased by 600%. Office towers with processors of the first or second generation of i3 and i5 processors were the most requested in the market. Venezuelans were looking for more and more alternatives to adapt to the current technology.
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After a technology boom in the country prior to 2020, the technological culture of Venezuelans transcended. For the first time in a decade, job opportunities (both physical and remote), the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, and freelancing platforms allowed some economic stability for Venezuelans. As a result, more and more people could opt for current technology. Consequently, the country’s gaming culture grew exponentially.
Esports competitions, gaming hubs, the massive arrival of fiber optics in the country, and many other factors have made the gaming movement reach a wider audience. Undoubtedly, this movement caught the attention of international companies such as Samsung, Aorus, and local institutions such as SoyTecno, CLX, and more. But, the biggest movement recently was that of UCAB. One of the most respected universities in the country has been the educational precursor that has bet on the gaming industry.
The first major eSports academy in the country
The Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (UCAB), has been studying this industry for a long time. They host small gaming tournaments on campus and lectures on topics associated with the video game industry. However, seeing the cultural growth of gaming, the University’s board wanted to take it further. In the past, there have been other national companies that have bet on gaming in the past, such as Spartacus eSports, but only covering the area of championships and offering the first gaming hub in Caracas.
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However, UCAB has taken this idea to the next level by creating the first major educational eSports academy in the country. The UCAB eSports Academy offers both on-campus and off-campus students an educational center to become professionals in different gaming areas. At the moment, this academy offers courses in esports, streaming, esports technical directive, and more.
All this has come hand in hand with a state-of-the-art gaming hub designed to offer gamers the best possible performance. The courses are taught by professors with experience in different areas. We even have Venezuelan professional players who have served in esports teams in Turkey, Brazil, and China.
The purpose of this eSports Academy is to promote even more of the gaming culture within the country. In addition, one of the medium-term objectives is the inclusion of graduate careers within the UCAB in the different areas of the courses available. These projects are in the elaboration stage in order to, in the future, request the approval of the Ministry of Education of the country. In this way, Venezuela’s first graduate professionals in gaming areas would be created.
