MMU and Esding collaborate to boost Malaysian e-sports

• MMU one of the first universities in Malaysia to offer gaming programmes
• Seeks to prepare and develop e-sports champions to compete at the international level

MULTIMEDIA University (MMU), a digital tech university, and Esports Distinct International Network Gamers (Esding), a Malaysia-based e-sports company are poised to strengthen the country’s position in the e-sports industry by developing facilities as well as exploring research and innovation activities.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate this collaboration was inked by Prof Dr Ahmad Rafi Mohamed Eshaq, the president of MMU and Afizal Amid, the regional managing director of Esding at MMU Cyberjaya campus.

Rafi expressed his pleasure over the signing, as it represented a continuation of MMU being ahead in the ICT and gaming industries.

“The agreement reflects the role of MMU, which has always led the higher education industry by not only championing ICT and the creative industries, but also empowering the eesports industry,” he said.

“This has led to MMU graduates becoming some of the most sought-after graduates in the country.”

He said, MMU was among one of the first universities in Malaysia to gaming programmes under its Bachelor of Computer Science in four areas of specialisation namely Game Design Fundamental, Game Production, Game Physic and Game Algorithm.

“MMU has outlined our plan for e-sports to go beyond gaming or nurturing gamers. We would like to prepare and develop e-sports champions to compete at the international level. At the same time, the university will explore research and innovation for game development, content creation, e-sports management and entrepreneurship,” Rafi said.

As a pioneering alumnus, Afizal is proud to offer the opportunity to MMU, being a trendsetter among private universities in Malaysia.

The MoU paves the way for both parties to explore e-sports seriously, taking into account the needs and varied angles of the industry.

"This will be the first amongst other initiatives that we have in progress to systematically nurture healthy grassroots e-sports and effectively groom talent towards becoming gaming paragons,” Afizal said.

"MMU will be a reliable university partner to kickstart our strategic plans for universities. Through deep integration with our existing framework, Esding foresees mutual benefits, even for others in the e-sports economy and community. This is our level of care for grassroots, our benchmark.”

Highlighting last year’s Esding Elites Intervarsity Esports Championship (EEIEC), Afizal said that EEIEC’s top players known as Esding Elites have been invited to three major global tournaments in China and South Korea, with participants from the US, Germany and Canada.

“Our Esding Elites are making their mark internationally, which helps in pushing local grassroots e-sports,” added Afizal.