The E-Sports Phenomenon in the University Environment: Involvement, Perceptions and Challenges. A Comparative Analysis between Technical and Economics Students

The e-sports phenomenon has experienced an impressive expansion in recent years, transforming digital competitions into events with large audiences and considerable economic impact. The literature emphasizes multiple benefits of involvement in e-sports, from developing strategic, tactical and teamwork skills to attracting new professional and academic opportunities. Research on how e-sports influence students in various fields of study is limited, especially in the Romanian university context. The present study contributes to fill this gap, having as main objective to identify the differences between technical and economics students in terms of perception, involvement and attitudes towards e-sports and video games, as well as to explore the relationship between these activities and the level of participation in physical activities. The methodology used is of a quantitative, descriptive-comparative type, based on an online questionnaire administered to a sample of 1,077 students from two representative universities in Romania. The research questions aim to determine both the extent of the e-sports phenomenon among young people and how it can be integrated into the university curriculum. The results indicate significant differences between technical and economics students in terms of level of involvement in digital competitions, perception of the popularity of e-sports and attitudes towards their integration in education. In addition, the positive correlations between e-sports involvement and physical activity refute the perception that video games discourage physical activity. The major contribution of the research lies in highlighting the potential of e-sports that could be harnessed in the university environment.