{"id":263,"date":"2025-10-22T19:10:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T17:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flare.academicesports.net\/?page_id=263"},"modified":"2025-11-25T13:06:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T11:06:07","slug":"elementor-263","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/flare.academicesports.net\/?page_id=263","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What is FLARE?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The Center for Academic Esports will be the first of its kind in the world, focusing on the connection between technology, gaming, esports, and transferable skills as well as creative arts. This center has the potential to play a crucial role in shaping the future of education and influencing the future job market. It will also be closely aligned with the University of Agder\u2019s (UiA) strategy towards 2030.\u00a0<\/span>Esports, thereby, acts as a future lab for the digital society, and academic esports can be utilized to make the knowledge applicable towards future problems that society is facing. The development of our own esports programs, which bring together multiple faculties to co-create, lays the foundation for this center to extend the same approach beyond our borders, transforming it into a powerhouse for all activities related to this new and exciting field.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Organizational Structure<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The center will be closely connected to industry and external actors through active participation in project activities and involvement in the center’s governing bodies. The existing Academic Esports Seminar will be institutionalized on a yearly basis to act as a hub conference. The center will actively collaborate with other research environments to enhance and promote the research conducted and build on the knowledge developed.<\/p>

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The Executive Board's role is to approve the center's strategic direction. The center will have shared leadership, consisting of a leader and a coordinator. The leader of the Executive Board will be the Dean or Pro-Dean of Research from the host faculty. The board will also include 2 representatives from UiA, 2 from the industry (one being from the developer\u2019s side), 2 from research centers, and 2 from partner universities.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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The center will be managed by a unit called \"Center Management,\" consisting of the center leader (from the host faculty), the coordinator, and a dedicated administration team responsible for the daily operations of the center. This group will also facilitate connections and coordinate relationships between all involved parties. The center leaders will meet digitally\u00a0 to ensure the center's focus on sustainability.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Given the scale of the gaming and esports industry, it is essential to draw input from global experts. The potential within academic esports and gaming technology is vast, and we have only just begun to scratch the surface. International collaboration is key to unlocking this potential. The center aims to be a key contributor in identifying the potential of academic esports and transferable skills, working closely with international environments in the EU and other global regions. The center will attract the best international researchers and professionals, with efforts already underway.<\/p>

Learn about who's in FLARE's advisory board here<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The Innovation Hubs<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Academic Esports encompasses a broad field of study. To address different aspects of esports, gaming technology, and academia, the center will have five teams, each focusing on a specific area. These teams will have overlapping fields of interest, and their leaders will be part of the leadership group.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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