UK, Gen.G Host Panel Discussion in NYC: 'Vision for Community Esports'
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 1, 2019) — The University of Kentucky and its partner in exploring the academic and community potential of esports will host a panel discussion for prospective students, UK alumni and the gaming community next week in New York.
UK’s “Vision for Community Esports” will be co-hosted with Gen.G, a global player in the esports industry.
UK and Gen.G, along with JMI Sports, recently announced an innovative partnership to explore how esports can be a platform for student success and career development as well as helping build campus community. The collaboration is being jointly led by two UK offices: Student and Academic Life and Information Technology Services.
On Monday, Nov. 4, from 6 to 8 p.m., that dialogue will continue in New York as UK and Gen.G serve as co-hosts for a panel discussion featuring UK officials and Erin Ashley Simon, a UK alumna, former soccer player and multi-title media personality and TV anchor. She is currently at Cheddar Esports. Attendees will also get to experience some of the latest Samsung gaming technology.
The event will be held at Samsung 837. For more information or to RSVP for the event, go to: www.samsung.com/us/explore/837/events/galaxy-gaming-session-game2h197.
A growing number of universities across the country are exploring esports teams and clubs. The partnership between UK and Gen.G — developed through its multimedia rights holder JMI Sports — promises strategically distinctive steps beyond esports as purely a competitive platform.
The partnership will emphasize access to opportunities for all University of Kentucky students. Gen.G, for example, has been a leader in working to diversify esports, launching the first all-female Fortnite team. Gen.G and UK are both focused on issues of equity and greater inclusivity.
The partnership between UK and Gen.G — the global esports organization connecting the best gamers in the United States and Asia — will develop wholly new pathways for student recruitment, classroom and internship opportunities; research avenues for scholars across a variety of colleges; and professional development for alumni. The partners are also committed to exploring research topics surrounding both the challenges and opportunities associated with esports.
The partnership is part of a larger Smart Campus Initiative in which the university is exploring multiple ways to further leverage the use and benefits of innovative technologies throughout its teaching, research, service and health care missions. The first phase in the Smart Campus Initiative was the announcement last spring that UK would provide all first-year students and many faculty members with an iPad Air, Apple keyboard and Apple Pencil.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.