Harnessing the power of esports in the classroom

The British Esports Association is the UK’s national body for esports. It is a not-for-profit organisation and was established in 2016 with Government backing to support, promote and raise awareness of esports amongst all stakeholders in the UK.

British Esports is partnered with Pearson and has developed the first esports qualifications of its kind in the world. The L3 BTEC in Esports will be taught in Colleges in the UK and around the world from September.

Tom is also an experienced teacher. Over the last 15 years he has taught across the full spectrum of state and independent schools, from pupil referral units and sponsored academies through to an academically selective independent day school in Bath where he still teaches 3 days a week.

Cindy is currently Senior Vice President, BTEC and Apprenticeships at Pearson Education where she is responsible for the development of all Pearson’s UK technical, vocational and apprenticeship qualifications which are delivered to over one million learners a year.

Cindy moved into the education sector in 2011 when she took up the role of Deputy Principal at City & Islington College. In 2016 she was appointed a Deputy Further Education Commissioner by the Department for Education working on the Government's review of the Further Education sector nationally. Before moving into the education sector Cindy held a number of senior roles in the entertainment media sector including roles at EMI, Warner Brothers and Virgin.

Cindy is passionate about the vital role education and skills-based learning can play in helping individuals make progress in their lives but also in driving economic growth and productivity. She has a particular interest in the increasing role of technology in providing access to education and lifelong learning including how it can innovate what we learn and how we learn. 

Cindy is a member of the Commission on Sustainable Learning and she currently sits on the board of The Speakers Trust and is an honorary lifetime member of The Children's Society having served as a Trustee for 8 years.

Constance is an American professor of Informatics at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). She previously taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before taking public service leave, from 2011-2012, to work as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House Executive Office, where she advised on policy matters about video games and learning. She investigates cognition and learning in multiplayer video games and esports. She is also the Founder of Higher Education Video Games Alliance (HEVGA), an academic organization of game programs in higher education. Her current projects include mixed methods research on the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) high school esports league, quantitative study of esports in higher education, and advice on parenting gamers. She is currently a co-chair of the Connected Learning Summit, and chair for the annual Esports Conference at UC Irvine, as well as the UCI Esports Program Task Force for Diversity and Inclusion. #edufuturists

Alyson is passionate about delivering impactful and enduring learning points for youths in the Esports Academy, having spent the last 2 years helping create SCOGA and the Esports Academy's workshop content, diploma modules, and skilled trainers through dedicated efforts in science-backed curriculum and lesson plans, research and development, and extensive structured upgrading of skilled trainers.

A seasoned curriculum developer, Alyson has created unique and engaging educational content (#LearningThroughPlay!) using popular esports titles to teach 21st century skills such as teamwork and communication. She has helped develop and teach the Diploma in Esports and Game Design with partner Informatics Academy.

She has worked extensively with esports professionals, initiating multiple large scale and grassroots esports events, helping passionate gamers explore their interest in esports. Using her various knowledge in sports science, Alyson assisted Singapore’s esports team in the Philippines 2019 Southeast Asian Games, which clinched two medals.