Southeast Asian education group XCL Education and esports franchise Team Flash announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see Singapore’s first ever school-based esports program launched at XCL World Academy.
About the academy
XCL World Academy, XCL Education’s flagship school, has created an esports facility within the school called “The Garage”, to be equipped with a large, wall-to-wall LED screen, 24 high-performance gaming stations, 2 flight simulators, 2 racing rigs, and 4 VR stations, in addition to a drone / robotics lab. XCL World Academy have also finalized plans to create a multi-purpose esport arena with a capacity for hundreds, as part of a USD$35 million new high school innovation block plan to support the growth of the esports program.
The esports club at the academy will be run by students, and an extracurricular esports student committee will support the club by overseeing the end-to-end operation and management of the club and their associated activities. Team Flash, as part of the collaboration, will provide coaching from their experienced esports athletes along with seminars, conversations, and internships that will provide academy students exposure to the rapidly growing esports ecosystem. Team Flash will also give league and competition organization support across the XCL group of schools and beyond.
About the partnership
Speaking about the collaboration, Team Flash CEO Mark Chew stated that they were delighted to partner with XCL Education in bringing a formal mode of learning to the fastest growing sport in the world: esports. He added that as there were over a billion people identifying themselves as online gamers, it makes sense to help identify and develop the critical thinking skills needed to succeed in the industry.
“We understand the skills needed in the new future of work and have always strived to remain ahead of the curve when it comes to education. By offering an Esports programme and more importantly a venue where our students can learn, interact and immerse themselves in the benefits of the global phenomena of Esports, we are able to better prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow.
Brian Rogove, XCL Education CEO
The objective of our partnership was to develop the key skills of students not just in various aspects of the Esports and gaming industry through hands-on learning and coaching, but also skills that will be crucial to their success in the future, such as leadership, teamwork, communication and problem solving. Given the huge success of Team Flash coupled with their knowledge and know-how, it was clear that they could enrich the student experience and nurture talent through hands-on learning and access to their expertise and network.”
Team Flash continue to add to their collaborations with this recent deal: they have announced partnerships with Singapore-based gaming eyewear brand Hyperion Gear and streaming platform BOOYAH! Live earlier this year. This newest announcement mirrors that of Malmö FF’s FIFA academy in collaboration with Swedish “Fria Laroverk” high school, and shows that esports organizations understand and act on the need for investing in rostering talent early and furnishing the workforce of tomorrow with the skills they will need. A recent report prepared jointly by Microsoft and McKinsey&Company show that the class of 2030 will need skills that can be derived from esports to succeed in the workplace.
