Update (December 8th 2021): NSE has announced the student cohort for the 2022 Intel FutureGen programme:
Original article (June 24th 2021):
UK university esports body National Student Esports (NSE) has extended its partnership with Intel for the third year running.
This means the partnership will continue for the 2021/2022 academic year, and the Intel FutureGen programme will return in 2022. This was launched in 2019 and aims to ‘nurture high achieving student leaders, help develop their skills and enhance future career prospects’.
So far, 20 students have been involved in the Intel FutureGen programme – you can see the 2021 cohort here.
“Working with organisations like NSE to support grassroots talent and the student community is at the heart of our esports strategy.”
Mark Walton, Intel
Intel will also remain the headline partner for the British University Esports Championship, the esports competition of British universities run by NSE.
The news comes after NSE said the British University Esports Championship reached record-breaking numbers in the last academic year, with 1,700 teams from 100 different universities.
The competition runs for two eight-week periods over the winter and summer terms, in which Warwick University has dominated the NSE leaderboards to win Esports University of the Year for the third consecutive year.
Alex Coulson, NSE MD, said: “Adding to the student experience is at the core of NSE’s focus, whether that’s through esports or our more educational initiatives. We couldn’t be happier that Intel has continued to show their support once again and recognises the importance of aiding UK university students in their endeavours.
“We’re excited to work together on existing projects like the British University Esports Championship and the Intel FutureGen programme, but also to work on new ideas and other ways to reward and aid the student community.”
Mark Walton, EMEA graphics and gaming comms manager at Intel, added: “Working with organisations like NSE to support grassroots talent and the student community is at the heart of our esports strategy.
“We’re delighted to continue collaborating with NSE on the likes of Intel FutureGen and look forward to developing new ideas and an exciting British University Esports Championship later this year.”
NSE and Intel are also working together on a joint initiative to recognise and reward success stories within the esports community. More details on this are due to be announced soon.
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Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He has almost two decades of experience in journalism, and left Esports News UK in June 2025.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He also previously worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation.
