Students from Wrexham Glyndwr University will host a European delegation later this year to examine the future of the growing eSports industry.

The appetite globally for eSports, which is essentially, competitive computer gaming viewed by spectators – has grown hugely in recent decades and Glyndwr’s students have taken part in a Europe-wide Erasmus + project examining the kind of buildings the new industry will need – alongside students from France, Spain and Finland.

Dr Colin Stuhlfelder, programme leader for Architectural Design Technology, said: “With the Spanish University of Murcia’s sports expertise, the University of Caen in France’s specialism in inclusivity, the University of Kajaani in Finland’s eSports lead, and WGU student’s design skills, the Erasmus+ project seeks to examine how eSports can be understood, expanded to a broad audience regardless of ability, and be regulated through a Europe-wide Ethical Charter - as well as a host of other considerations linked to engagement.

“Our students at Glyndwr have been examining the design implications of housing gaming tournaments, as well as the associated requirements of eSports, such as training spaces, analytics facilities - as well as ensuring a public facing space is created as well.”

Last autumn, students from Glyndwr joined their European counterparts in a trip to the University of Murcia’s Faculty of Sport Science in San Javier. The visit was the third Erasmus+ study trip which Architectural Design Technology students have taken part in as part of the pan-European electronic gaming industry project, and later this year, students from across Europe will be hosted at Glyndwr for the Welsh section of the project.