Bournemouth University has been a long-standing advocate for digital media education, with a strong presence in games design and development. In a proactive move to expand its creative technology portfolio, the facility launched a new BSc in Esports Digital Technologies with the aim to provide hands-on experience of the technical, creative and operational aspects of the multi-dimensional world of esports.
Overseeing this initiative is Andrew Kitchenham, deputy head of the Creative Technology Department, who helped to shape the course with a strong alignment with real world technical workflows and future-proof employability.
“We wanted to build a course that focused on more than gameplay,” says Kitchenham. “This isn’t about training the next professional esports player—it’s about building the skilled workforce that enables those events to happen: the broadcast engineers, the production teams and technicians, and the project managers and commercial directors.”
With many students enrolled annually into the university’s existing games programmes, Bournemouth recognised the opportunity to branch into esports – a rapidly growing global industry.
Esports intersects with other disciplines such as live streaming, media production, technical infrastructure, events management, commercialisation and digital marketing. This offers a route to reaching new students who may not have perused traditional games design courses, but are interested in the culture and technology behind gaming and broadcast.
“As the course is a Bachelor of Science, we are able to focus deeply on the technologies at work – from camera inputs through to livestreaming delivery,” explains Kitchenham.
Creating a distributed live streaming environment
To support this movement, Bournemouth University built a custom esports lab, shifting away from the traditional model of single TV studio and gallery setups. Instead, they created a distributed live streaming environment, where the students had access to a full professional-grade setup at their individual workstation.
“The idea is to get every student working on the same equipment simultaneously,” says Kitchenham. “If only three students in a class get to touch a vision mixer, the rest are passively watching. That isn’t how we want to teach. We needed an active learning environment where everyone is hands-on.”
At the centre of each workstation is a Blackmagic ATEM Mini Pro ISO which allows for ISO recording and live switching up to four video sources, including a Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K G2 to capture the player in action, a HyperDeck Studio HD Plus for playback and graphics, a feed from their PC for gameplay or motion graphics, and a fourth input routed from other students or the lecturer via a centrally installed Blackmagic Videohub 20×20 12G-SDI video router.
The lab was designed around SDI connectivity for high quality video routing between each station. Over 75 SDI cables were installed beneath the floor, with custom patch bays at each booth for flexible signal management.
“One of the goals from day one was to make sure that the teaching team could route any output to all other student’s booths,” notes Kitchenham. “That’s where the Videohub became invaluable. It turns what looks like a simple classroom into a fully interconnected production space.”
To equip students with more control and insight into the live production workflows, the facility integrated Bitfocus Companion and Stream Deck systems for scripted automation. Students learn how to build macros, switch cameras, trigger graphics and control playback. Important skills for small, agile live production teams.
“We’re teaching scripting logic, how to build environments using macros and understanding network protocols. A huge leap in capability compared to just pressing record,” he enthuses.
The HyperDeck Studio HD Plus units at each station give access to pre-rendered assets, alpha-key graphics, or B-roll during live switching. Once productions are complete, each ATEM’s ISO recordings and project files can be opened directly in DaVinci Resolve.
The DaVinci Resolve integration was a big part of the decision,” Kitchenham reveals. “Students can revisit their entire show, re-edit with synced camera feeds, and produce professional level output. It’s the kind of skill the industry is looking for.”
By using professional yet accessible tools, Bournemouth have created an environment where students are both learning the theory and real technical hands-on application from day one. The system is flexible enough for solo operation or team-based collaboration under a future-proofed infrastructure.
“Our students are already asking how they can replicate the setups at home,” Kitchenham concludes. “That’s the beauty of the Blackmagic ecosystem. We’re giving them the skills behind the spectacle, but ultimately, they can leave here at the end of their course and buy the very equipment we’re teaching with to build their own foundations in the industry.”
