UNSW Sydney has successfully defended its global crown at the 2026 Academic Esports World Tournament (AEWT), underscoring the growing popularity of Esports as a platform for learning, collaboration and career-ready skills.
Held on UNSW’s Kensington campus last week, the international tournament brought together more than 80 students from eight universities across Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Across a week of intense competition, UNSW teams emerged champions for the second year in a row, overcoming international rivals on home ground.
The AEWT blends high-level Esports competition with academic challenges, reflecting the rapidly expanding role of gaming within education. Alongside matches in popular titles including League of Legends, Valorant, Rocket League and Teamfight Tactics, students took part in business pitches, debates, research workshops and creative design challenges designed to mirror real-world workplace demands.
Esports is a fast-growing global industry combining competitive video gaming with live events, large audiences and significant corporate investment. At elite levels, it requires advanced strategy, teamwork, communication and mental resilience, skills increasingly recognised beyond the screen.
UNSW Esports Team Leader and President Callum Brown said the competition challenged participants well beyond gameplay.
“You’re constantly problem-solving, communicating and working across disciplines. Making a comeback required the team to trust each other and maintain a strong mindset, and that’s what helped us come from behind and retain the title,” he said.
A standout feature of the tournament was the AEWT ‘game jam’, where students from different universities collaborated under intense time pressure to design and prototype an original game. One team from Eindhoven University of Technology worked with local Elder Uncle Ron, who welcomed participants to Country and shared Aboriginal ways of knowing and being. Inspired by the exchange, the team developed a game focused on bringing three natural ecosystems into balance.
Dean of UNSW Arts, Design & Architecture, Professor Claire Annesley, said the event highlighted the power of global collaboration at the intersection of creativity, technology and entrepreneurship.
“When students from South Korea, the United States, Austria, Norway, the Netherlands and Australia spend a week learning and competing together, the opportunities that emerge are huge,” Professor Annesley said.
She said the tournament demonstrated why gaming skills are increasingly valued across industries.
“The students competing in the Academic Esports World Tournament demonstrated immense creativity, grit, empathy, deep collaboration and adaptability, both online and in real life,” she said. “If there was one takeaway from the week, it’s this: hire gamers!”
Reflecting the rising demand for gaming-related education pathways, UNSW’s Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture is expanding its offering in 2026, adding Game Design and Gaming and Society to its existing programs. The tournament was supported by Discord and founded by Professor Tobias Scholz, with UNSW staff acknowledged for hosting the event.
