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About the Event
Winners
Competition Chair and Judges
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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

The APRU Student Esports Paper Competition will recognize outstanding papers in the field of Esports. Selected papers will be considered for the competition and presented at the 2021 MetaGame Conference in Hong Kong on December 11, 2021 (virtually). Winners will receive award certificates and scholarships paid directly to their university.

The purpose of the paper competition is to support Esports as an academic area of study. We will encourage students to have innovative and quality research in the Esports field, as well as, promote the long-term investment of Esports research which will enrich students’ and universities’ resources and knowledge sources in an emerging field.

Prizes

  • The competition will recognize a First Prize USD $3,000 and Runner-up USD $1,000 winner in three categories
  • Winning submissions will be published in the International Journal of Esports.

* The winning submission in each category has the choice of USD $3000 scholarship paid directly to students’ institution or USD $1000 cash prize. The runner-up prize in each category has the choice of USD $1000 scholarship paid directly to the students’ institution or USD $300 cash prize.

Categories

Business Models for the Esports Industry

Examples include:

  • Sustainable Esports growth in societies in the Asia Pacific
  • Immersive Technologies
  • Esports marketing and event production

Esports for Social Good

Examples include:

  • Diversity and Inclusion in the Esports Industry
  • Game design for social innovation

Health/Wellness in Esports

Examples include:

  • Player Welfare
  • Psychological impact of Esports gaming
  • Technology and innovation

Eligibility Criteria

  • The submitter must be a current undergraduate or college student as of December 2021.
  • Students must be enrolled at any universities or colleges in the Asia-Pacific Rim, please see the list of APRU member economies for reference.
  • Faculty and/or an industry member may serve as an advisor on a project, but the work should primarily be done by the student(s).
  • The paper must be written by the student(s) with only minor outside editorial assistance. One or more advisors may appear as co-authors of a paper, but the student must be the ‘first author’.
  • Papers can be industry projects as part of a course or co-op/internship, or research projects done at the academic institution.
  • To submit your entry, complete the submission form and upload your PDF submission by December 3, 2021 (extended deadline).

Paper Guidelines

  • Students are invited to work individually or in teams of up to 3 members.
  • Papers should be written in one of three categories (Business Models for the Esports Industry, Esports for Social Good, Health/Wellness in Esports).
  • Papers should be no more than 1,200 words in English.
  • Entries should include bibliography, index, appendix and citations in APA format. These items are not included in the 1,200 word count.
  • 6 finalist teams will present their papers remotely to compete for first and second place in each category on December 11, 2021.
  • Teams will have to chance to win up to USD $3,000. Prizes will be distributed in either a form of scholarship paid to the university for student fees or up to USD $1,000 cash award paid to students.
  • Interested students should complete the submission form with entry uploaded by December 3, 2021 23:59 (HKT).

Important Dates

  • Open Call for submissions: October 15 – December 3
  • Submission Deadline: extended til December 3, 2021 23:59 (HKT)
  • Judging Period: December 3 – December 9, 2021
  • APRU Metagame Conference Paper Presentations and Award Ceremony: December 11, 2021 9AM (HKT).

Submission

Submit your entry here for the APRU Esports Paper Competition by December 3, 2021 23:59 (HKT). The entry should be in pdf format and saved by family name of lead author and the title of submission. Please also include a title page with all students’ full name, course of study, email, university name, and title of the submission.

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluate the submission for accuracy (30%), relevance (20%), clarity (20%), and originality (30%).

Judging

A group of academics / professionals will serve as judge. Scoring rubrics will be used for the judging.

Competition Chair

Prof Peichi Chung, Associate Professor, Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Competition Judges

  • Mr Tom Dore, Head of Education, British Esports Association
  • Dr Aaron Koshy, Chief Editor, International Journal of Esports
  • Mr Terence Leung, Senior Manager (Esports and Youth Team), Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited
  • Mr Timothy Shen, Founder and Investor, Yesports Media Limited
  • Prof Patrick Williams, Associate Professor of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University
  • APRU Secretary

Business Models for the Esports Industry

1st Place
Title: Paving the Road: Exploring Esports Models and Marketing Opportunities in University
Student: Zachary McKay
University: The University of British Columbia (CANADA)

2nd Place
Title: Two Islands in the Pacific
Student: Reyn Seki
University: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (USA)

 


 

Esports for Social Good

1st Place
Title: Esport’s Legacy of Social Good
Student: Kaden MacKay
University: The University of British Columbia (CANADA)

2nd Place
Title: Women’s experience of sexism and objectification in the eSports and gaming community
Student: Gabdulkhaeva Leysan, Suprun Elizaveta, Malenkova Elizaveta
University: Far Eastern Federal University (RUSSIA)

 


 

Health/Wellness in Esports

1st Place
Title: The Psychological Impacts of eSports Gaming: A Detriment or a Lifeline in Disguise?
Student: Rosarita Ridhwan De Cruz
University: National University of Singapore (SINGAPORE)

2nd Place
Title: E-Sports: Motivations and Life Goals
Student: Liaw Yan Xin, Seah Kia Luck, Mah Kim Chuan, James
University: National University of Singapore (SINGAPORE)

 


 

Revisit the student paper competition presentation on YouTube:

Competition Chair

Prof Peichi Chung

Associate Professor, Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Prof Peichi Chung received her Ph.D. from the Department of Telecommunication, Indiana University-Bloomington. Her teaching and research interests include new media and digital culture. In her teaching, she focuses on new development in media cultural studies. She examines issues related to new media production and cultural policy in sub-regional locations within Asia. Her research focuses on media industry analysis at both corporation and government levels. Along with her previous projects, her current works include cultural preservation of Hong Kong in video game. Her co-edited book, Media Technologies for Work and Place in East Asia: Critical Perspectives toward Japan and the Two Koreas, was published by Bristol University Press in 2021.

 


 

Competition Judges

Mr Tom Dore

Head of Education, British Esports Association

Tom Dore is the Head of Education for the British Esports Association (BEA) and leads their work with young people and wider stakeholders in education. He is also the Head of the Education Focus Group of the Global Esports Federation and is recognised as one of the leading global voices on esports & education. Tom leads the BEA partnership with Pearson, the global learning company, and has developed the BTECs in Esports: the first esports qualifications of their kind in the world for 14-19 year olds. He is also leading critical work around safeguarding, child protection and online safety in esports.

Tom is also still a teacher and has taught for the last 17 years across a full range of state, independent (private) and alternative provision schools. He has held a range of senior leadership roles during that time, including Assistant Principal (Assessment & Progress) and Director of Maths & Science. He currently teaches at King Edward’s School (KES), an academically selective, independent day school in Bath which is ranked in the top 75 schools in the UK. He is also committed to traditional sport and physical activity and is involved in the coaching and organisation of cricket and golf at KES as well as esports.

 


 

Dr Aaron Koshy

Chief Editor, International Journal of Esports

 


 

Mr Terence Leung

Senior Manager (Esports and Youth Team), Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited

Mr Leung heads the Esports and Youth Team of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, taking charge of Cyberport’s public mission in promoting esports development, as well as nurturing youth in digital tech. He is dedicated to scouting and developing talents for the industry, through organising a wide range of innovation technology programmes and events for tertiary, secondary, as well as primary school students. Mr Leung possesses over 18 years of working experience in the digital tech industry. He has extensive experience in business development, business administration and marketing across various business areas of Cyberport, including e-sports and digital entertainment industry, EdTech, STEM education, start-up incubation, digital rights and resources management, and digital inclusion, etc. Mr Leung is always invited to be guest speaker, guest of honor in various esports, youth and tech education events, as well as serve judging roles in different industry awards and competitions, such as Hong Kong ICT Awards, Digital Inclusion Mobile Apps Funding Scheme, Hong Kong Outstanding IT School Award, and Hong Kong International Student Innovative Invention Contest, etc.

 


 

Mr Timothy Shen

Founder and Investor, Yesports Media Limited

Mr. Timothy Shen is the Founder and Investor of Yesports Media Limited. Yesports headquartered in HK, is a global group for the development of sports (especially esports), technology (especially AI) and related talents/ professionals career development and management.

Yesports provides a global “esports +” social media hub showcasing talents from around the world, encouraging talents to share their gaming experience and unleash their talent, and providing a network for connecting to the corporates, media and sponsors for sponsorships, media exposure and marketing synergies. Yesports has held over 300 online and offline events globally covering 50 plus countries and markets, with 100+million social media impressions, and 600million viewership reach. Latest series of events including the GIRLS’ POWER ESPORTS TOURNAMENT which is the embodiment of the women rights to improve their career development, YESPORTS SUMMER INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL MUSIC FIESTA, YESPORTS DANCE BATTLE, hosted throughout the lockdown of various countries in the past year, have already achieved an average of 15 million+ online reach audiences.

In addition, Mr. Shen is the Chairman of Huge Famous Group and Safari Asia Limited. He has over 20 years of extensive experience in the accounting, corporate finance, investments, M&A and restructuring advisory areas with companies such as Merrill Lynch, and he also served as the management of listed companies in London and Hong Kong markets.

 


 

Prof Patrick Williams

Associate Professor of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University

J. Patrick Williams (PhD) is Associate Professor of Sociology at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His primary areas of research are culture and identity, wherein he splits his time between the study of subcultural identity and authenticity on the one hand, and game-related experiences and identities on the other. Among his many publications, he has authored and edited several books on culture, identity and/or games, including Gaming as Culture: Essays in Social Reality, Identity and Experience in Fantasy Games (2006), Subcultural Theory: Traditions and Concepts (2011), and Studies on the Social Construction of Identity and Authenticity (2020). His current research focuses on the significance of DIY culture and identity in the growth of esports in Singapore.

Cyberport

Cyberport is an innovative digital community with over 1,500 start-ups and technology companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, which is wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government. With a vision to be the hub for digital technology thereby creating a new economic driver for Hong Kong, Cyberport is committed to nurturing a vibrant tech ecosystem by cultivating talent; promoting entrepreneurship among youth; supporting start-ups on their growth journey; fostering industry development by promoting collaboration with local and international partners; and integrating new and traditional economies by accelerating digital adoption in the public and private sectors.

Cyberport is focused on facilitating the growth of major technology trends such as FinTech, smart living, digital entertainment/e-sports and cybersecurity, as well as the emerging technologies of artificial intelligence (AI), big data and blockchain, to foster the transformation of Hong Kong into a smart city. With a team of committed professionals providing all-rounded, value-added services, state-of-the-art facilities and smart workspaces to support our digital community, Cyberport is now the flagship for Hong Kong’s digital technology industry. https://www.cyberport.hk/en/

How do I enter the competition?

Paper must be submitted with the submission form.

If you are not able to access the submission form, you may submit by email with “APRU Student Esports Paper Competition and Awards 2021” in the subject line to [email protected] will be accepted. If submitting by email. The authors full name, course of study, university name, title of the submission country of residence and email address must be included.

What is the deadline for submitting my essay?

All submissions must be received before November 12, 2021 23:59 (HKT).

I see there are three categories, do I write all?

No. Please select one category to write for this competition.

Who can enter the competition?

The APRU Student Esports Paper Competition and Awards 2021 is open to students across the APRU member economies who are studying in an undergraduate level in university.

How should I structure my essay?

Entries should include bibliography, index, appendix and citations in APA format. These items are not included in the 2,000 word count.

How do I know if my paper was submitted properly?

You will receive a confirmation by email.

What reference or citation style should I use?

Citations and references is recommended to use in APA format; other formats will be accepted as well.

Will you check for plagiarism?

As winning papers will be published in an academic journal, we take plagiarism seriously. All submissions will be checked for plagiarism. Submissions that are deemed plagiarised will be disqualified. Your submission should be your own original work that has not been published before.

Can I use images, graphics or figures from other sources?

We encourage you to create original figures if this enhances the submission.

I have submitted my paper and have noticed a mistake, what can I do?

We strongly encourage you to make sure the version you submit to the journal is the final version. If you have noticed a mistake after submission, it is possible to resubmit through the submission form. You may also resend the submission by email to [email protected]. However, any resubmission after the deadline of November 12, 2021 23:59 (HKT) will be rejected. We will consider the latest submission as the final entry you submit.

Can I submit my paper after the deadline?

No. Any submission after the deadline of November 12, 2021 23:59 (HKT) will be rejected.

I am a postgraduate student; can I enter this competition?

Unfortunately, no. Only entries from students who are studying in an undergraduate level in university are accepted.

When will I hear about the outcome of the competition?

As this is the first essay prize to be created for esports at an international scale, it is difficult to estimate the number of submissions that will be received. We expect to announce the winners at the 2021 Metagame Conference on December 11, 2021. Please follow APRU webpage for updates.

Can I share this competition with other people I think would be interested?

Please share this competition as widely as possible. All social media links will be set to shareable.

When do the winners receive their prize?

Once the winners are confirmed they will be contacted directly with the provided details on submission.

I would like to help in offering opportunities to students, who do I contact?

Please send an email to [email protected].

I have another question about this essay, who do I contact?

Please send an email to [email protected] with the subject heading “Question for APRU Student Esports Paper Competition and Awards 2021”.

Contact
Us

Address: APRU International University Centre, Unit 902, Cyberport 2, 100 Cyberport Road, Hong Kong
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +852 2117 7060
Fax: +852 2117 7077

 

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