Student Esports in Russia: The Growing Popularity and Prospects of Phygital Sports
HSE University experts have found that 75.3% of male students play competitive online games at least several times a month. Among women, this hobby is much less common: only 20.2% of female students are interested in online games. The HSE News Service covers the results of an expert and analytical report, released by HSE specialists, on the development of student esports in Russian universities.
The authors of the study found that 19.9% of all students play online games every day, 17.1% play several times a week, and 11.7% play several times a month. A total of 51.3% of students do not play online games at all.
The percentage among men is higher: 33.4% play daily, 27.3% play several times a week, and 14.6% play several times a month. Only 24.6% of them do not play at all. The percentage of women engaged in online gaming is much lesser: 5.5% play every day, 6.2% play several times a week, and 8.5% play several times a month. The majority (79.8%) do not play online games.
The report also notes that the Russian Technological University (RTU MIREA) provides the greatest support for esports. This university stands out for the professional technical equipment of its esports centre, financial and organisational support for students, as well as motivation from members of the esports community. In addition to RTU MIREA, the top three leaders in developing esports infrastructure include Kosygin State University and Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. Tomsk State University, Moscow Polytechnic University, ITMO University, HSE and other universities also provide great support for esports development.
The authors of the report highlight an interesting trend in esports—‘phygital’ sports, which combine classical sports, esports and virtual reality technologies. In Russia, this field is represented by a variety of disciplines, including phygital football, basketball, racing, martial arts, hockey and MOBA games.
During the study, the researchers raised the question of the need to include phygital sports in the physical education curriculum. A total of 22.6% of respondents ‘definitely agree’ with it, while 22.1% ‘somewhat agree’. Among those who play games, 25.5% ‘somewhat agree’ and 36.8% ‘definitely agree’. At the same time, 55.4% of men and 33.1% of women support the idea of including phygital sports in the curriculum.
At the moment, many Russian universities are actively developing and supporting phygital sports. Altai State University is developing programmes for its introduction as a separate discipline. In 2022, the ‘Future Games’ project, featuring an international tournament in 16 phygital disciplines, was launched in Russia. The championship is set to be held in 2024.
‘Support for esports initiatives is an opportunity to involve students in meaningful activities and not lose sight of the active part of the youth community. For many universities, this area is still terra incognita, and those who have already discovered esports are now in more favourable conditions: they have an additional factor of attractiveness for applicants, the variety of extracurricular activities is growing, and scientific groups are forming around the data generated by this area,’ says Ilya Yaskov, HSE University Deputy Vice-Rector.
The report on the state of student esports was prepared by a group of HSE specialists. The project manager is Ilya Yaskov. The research is devoted to the importance and prospects of developing the esports community, as well as to the current problems of supporting esports in universities, including a review of the best support practices in the context of universities and public organisations. The results of the analysis presented in the report are based on a two-stage study. In particular, in the second stage, a quantitative online survey was conducted using the Yandex Forms service. In total, 21,800 students from 322 universities in Russia took part in the survey, which was conducted from March 10 to April 5, 2023.
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Games, Cosplay, and Pizza at HSE University’s DotaFest
At the end of February, the HSE University Cultural Centre hosted the DotaFest esports festival organised by the CyberHSE society. The event was a chance for students of HSE and other Russian universities to immerse themselves in the world of popular video games and dress up as their favourite characters. There was also a round table on the development prospects of esports in Russia and the role of university societies in this effort.