UK university esports body NSE (National Student Esports) has revealed key stats from its NSE Student Survey exclusively with Esports News UK.

NSE operates the British University Esports Championship powered by Intel, which saw more than 2,200 teams from 111 universities compete in the 22/23 academic year.

The NSE community platform has 12,000+ verified student accounts created each year, and the latest NSE Student Survey has provided an insight into their playing and lifestyle habits.

The survey drew 449 responses in total this year, from 109 different universities. There were 53 questions in total, but we’ve teamed up with NSE to highlight seven key stats. The full report is not published publicly.

Alex Coulson, Managing Director at NSE, told Esports News UK:

“Grassroots gaming has a vibrant Women & Non-Binary community, is filled with health conscious Gen Z consumers, who also gain positive mental wellbeing from their involvement in esports which is natural given the scene’s focus on community and friendships.

“The vast majority of students in the NSE community study STEM subjects which, combined with the soft and technical skills gained from university esports participation, makes them both attractive future employees and also key consumers, not least for NSE sponsors who the community actively support.

“Although many students feel they don’t receive enough backing from their university, we expect this to change as we increasingly see more universities improve their esports proposition, and, at NSE, we are in conversations with many to help them achieve this.”

The findings also come as NSE announces DrayTek as its Official Speed Partner, and Intel as Headline Partner of the British University Esports Championship.

NSE Student Survey Key Headlines

Women in Esports
20% of students are Women & Non-Binary

NSE says it encourages women and non-binary members of the student community to play in esports through its tournaments, community support, focus groups and more.

“In the NSE Student Survey, we can see that the gender balance is improving with a further increase in our women & non-binary players, with circa 20% women or non-binary in the NSE community,” NSE said.

“We will continue to champion women in esports and gaming.”

Keeping fit & healthy
64% are physically active 3+ days a week

Traditionally, gaming has often been associated with a sedentary lifestyle, spending extended periods sitting in front of a screen without much physical movement.

However, destroying the classic gaming stereotypes, the NSE Student Survey found that 64% of the NSE community is physically active for three or more days a week. Walking was the most popular form of exercise followed by working out at the gym or at home.

The survey also found t hat 30% of students surveyed compete in either team or solo sports whilst at university. These statistics suggest that a majority of individuals within our gaming community are actively involved in exercise or sports on a regular basis.

This finding comes a few months after YouGov found that UK gamers more likely to frequent the gym than non-gamers.

Contributing to positive mental health
82% say university esports plays a role in maintaining positive mental health

It’s also important to note the impact that esports at the university level has on students in terms of their mental well-being.

The NSE Student Survey found that 82% of students say university esports plays a role in maintaining positive mental health.

“Gaming has had negative connotations with some people but it is clear that university esports can have a major positive impact on students’ mental health,” NSE said.

It’s all about community
Making friendships major factor in taking part

Making friendships came first, closely followed by becoming a better player when asked what were the key factors that influence their involvement with university esports.

“Gaming and esports bring our community together and it’s clear that these friends spend a lot of time together with nearly 50% playing 15+ hours a week on PC,” NSE stated.

“The majority of the tournaments NSE runs are team-based and often encourage students to make new friends in the community at their university, which directly contradicts the outdated stereotype of gaming and esports being a solo activity.”

STEM stays on top
67% study a STEM subject; computer science students make up 28% of the NSE community

NSE continues to disproportionately attract students studying STEM courses with 67% of students in a STEM subject vs a 45% baseline across all university students in the UK. STEM degrees continue to be sought after by many employers with key transferable skills in many sectors.

“Students in the NSE community also benefit from technical skills via the digital-first experience of gaming and esports at university and the social skills they have built within their societies and teams,” NSE said.

From the survey, 94% of students said that engaging with esports at university helped improve their social skills. Additionally, this year NSE has also seen a 10% increase in computer science students, who now make up 28% of the NSE community.

Students want to see NSE supported by brands
74% actively like having brands partner with NSE

“When brands partner with NSE, they contribute to enhancing the overall experience for students, whether that offers them more opportunities to play or provides them with exclusive prizes,” NSE said.

“Data from the NSE Annual Student Survey supports this with 74% of students saying they like to see brands partner with NSE. Especially when university esports and the grassroots scene in general can often be seen as less important in comparison to the wider esports industry, having top-tier brands support NSE adds professionalism and credibility to the scene.”

Students don’t feel well supported by their university
Students only felt a 2.2/5 level of support from their university

Last but not least, NSE asked students to rate to what extent their university’s gaming and esports society was supported on a scale of 1-5, where 1 represented not very supported and 5 represented the highest level of support.

On average, students only felt a 2.2 level of support from their university, and this only increased slightly to 2.6 when asked about the level of support by the student union.

“This shows that there is some great potential for universities to improve their support for students in the community, university esports provides an amazing avenue for universities to differentiate themselves from the competition when it comes to their esports offering,” NSE said.

“It’s especially so, as 42% of students said the esports offering was an important factor when selecting their university.”

Related article: Warwick becomes UK’s Esports University of the Year for a record five times in a row – but the gap at the top is narrowing

Dom Sacco

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

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 worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.