Mapúa University recently hosted its first-ever Cardinal Esports, a three-day Valorant tournament aimed at inspiring senior high school students in Luzon to pursue careers in Information Technology (IT). The event saw thirty-two (32) teams from senior high schools across the Greater Manila Area, Cavite, Bulacan, Laguna, Rizal, and Pampanga compete in a grueling two-day qualifier. The top eight (08) teams advanced to the finals, which were held at Mapúa University’s Makati campus last 25 March 2023. In the end, Mapúa University’s Team Sussy Amogus emerged victorious as champions, with Team San Beda Red Lions as the first runners-up and Team Tambay Eastwood from De La Salle University as the second runners-up.
In addition to providing a platform for promising esports players to showcase their skills, the Cardinal Esports tournament aimed to establish a supportive community where participants can connect, thrive, and receive encouragement to pursue their interests and careers in information technology (IT). The competition allowed participants to experience Mapúa University’s cutting-edge facilities and gain insight into the potential and rewards of a career in game development. This career path is achievable through Mapúa’s BS in Entertainment and Multimedia Computing program, which equips students with the skills and knowledge to handle the entire game development pipeline, from creative to technical processes. Graduates of the program can pursue various roles, such as lead game programmer, game designer, game quality assurance specialist, producer, and business developer.
“Mapúa is an academic member of the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP), the trade association that represents and promotes the country’s game development industry. One can be sure that our curriculum is industry-aligned and industry-supported, more so our graduates. Through our BS in Entertainment and Multimedia Computing program, Filipino learners who are passionate about this area can have the chance to go pro not only in gaming but in the whole pipeline of game development,” according to Alodia Hernaez, Mapúa Assistant Vice-President for Marketing and Admissions.
The IT sector’s game development industry has become one of the most profitable segments in recent years. With games now accessible on various platforms and utilized in different sectors beyond entertainment, game development has opened the door to numerous career options. Dean Kelly Balan of Mapúa School of Information Technology (SOIT) highlighted that the game development industry plays a significant role in the global economy, generating billions of dollars in revenue annually. This, in turn, provides a wealth of career opportunities for professionals such as developers, designers, writers, artists, and others.
“Game development requires a high degree of creativity, as developers must constantly come up with new and innovative ideas to keep players engaged. This creativity extends beyond the development process and can inspire players to create their own games, mods, and other content,” said Dean Kelly Balan of Mapúa School of Information Technology (SOIT).
This type of unbounded creativity is what Mapúa hopes to awaken in each Cardinal Esport player, supporter, and peer so that gamers can reach their true potential.
SOIT houses ABET-accredited computing programs: Computer Science, Information Systems, and Information Technology. The University is a Center of Excellence for IT education in the Philippines as recognized by the Commission on Higher Education.