Espoo's upper secondary schools start cooperation with Finnish esports organisation ENCE
The City of Espoo and Espoo Upper Secondary Schools and Sports and Physical Education profit centre have started cooperation with the Finnish esports organisation ENCE, with the aim of encouraging young people to learn through gaming.
This autumn, four upper secondary schools in Espoo i.e. Espoon yhteislyseo, Espoonlahden lukio, Leppävaaran lukio and Kuninkaantien lukio are working together with ENCE on optional esports study units organised by the schools. Through these study units, Espoo and ENCE want to bring the world of esports and its lessons closer to upper secondary school students, and help those interested in the field to find new job and hobby opportunities.
ENCE is an internationally renowned Finnish esports organisation founded in 2013 and currently competing in the Counter-Strike 2 and NHL. At the heart of the partnership is the ENCE Academy, a player development academy programme to which talented young players are selected through a multi-level process.
Lessons and meetings with experts
During the study units, ENCE experts will give lessons allowing students to gain important know-how directly from industry operators. The study units will culminate in an inter-school CS2 tournament at ENCE's office at the end of 2023.
ENCE Academy will be closely involved in the collaboration by organising visits of players to schools during which students can meet ENCE Academy players and ask questions on various topics, such as competitive gaming and the players' own careers. Academy Program Lead, Eemeli Ikonen, wants to raise awareness of competitive gaming as a hobby and a career opportunity among young people, together with Espoo's upper secondary schools: “One of ENCE Academy's objectives is to guide young people towards a responsible and balanced approach to competitive gaming. Through the study units taught in cooperation with Espoo's upper secondary schools, students will be provided with a safe environment to explore professional gaming together with ENCE experts.”
”Esports, especially the team-based variety, are a natural way for students to meet new people through their interests. They provide a meaningful way of addressing many of the broad areas of competence in the new upper secondary school curriculum. The ENCE collaboration provides valuable know-how and perspectives for students on how things are done at the top of the industry, and what kind of player paths or career opportunities exist,” says teacher Juha Tolonen of Kuninkaantien lukio. Tolonen is himself a former professional gamer who, in addition to teaching advanced mathematics and game programming, leads the esports teams at his upper secondary school.
"Esports as a digital learning environment bring new opportunities for self-development and learning to Espoo's secondary school students and serve as a window to the changing world of work,” says Tapio Erma, Director of Upper Secondary Education.