DLD College

• DLD College in London were looking to create an Esports facility but knew it was not possible to do on their own. CDW’s Esports experts assisted DLD College in designing and implementing a state-of-the-art solution that would meet their needs.

• CDW worked closely with trusted partners to orchestrate a solution using Corsair for the gaming tech hardware and TOP-TEC for customised Esports gaming furniture.

• Despite the challenge of a tight deadline, the Esports facility was ready when students returned to school.

• DLD College in London is a renowned educational institution that offers a range of courses and programmes for students aged 13 to 19. It’s a distinctive, contemporary school that prides itself on redefining what independent education looks and feels like for students of the 21st century.

• Located in the heart of London, it occupies a purpose-built building and features cutting-edge facilities.

• The college offers a range of courses and programmes, including an Esports BTEC, the first qualification of its kind in the world. Electronic sports – Esports – is organised competitive video gaming involving professional players or teams competing against each other in various multiplayer video games, often in front of a live audience or through online streaming platforms. It’s gained significant popularity in recent years and is worth £2.8Bn to the UK economy.

In January 2022, DLD College identified Esports as a new and upcoming arena that could empower students with digital, transferable skills they can use in the modern workplace. As well as being a subject that appeals to students, Esports intersects with sectors of the digital economy and is a great learning place for topics like cloud engineering, UX design, and analytics. This is alongside many practical benefits like problem solving in real time, improvements to reflexes and hand-eye coordination, and teamwork and communication skills. It’s also an inclusive area, open to players and students of different genders, ages, and physical abilities unlike some traditional sports – an important aspect for DLD College.

However, the Esports qualification would require an entire Esports facility that DLD College knew they could not create on their own. After seeing CDW exhibiting at the Bett Conference and learning of our capabilities, CDW were chosen as the technology partner to complete the project.

There were several challenges to solve: first, a general lack of experience in this area, which is common with most Colleges and Universities going into Esports. Second, DLD College had no existing partners to help deliver on requirements. Space was also at a premium on the campus, and they wanted it finished and ready to go by the time students returned in September, so a quick turnaround was required.

CDW provided a number of options that would suit the requirements of this project. DLD’s Max Copley explains, “We started by advising the CDW Education team what we were looking to achieve. I had an idea of what we wanted, but CDW were the ones who said this is what can happen. They were instrumental in finding the best solutions, presenting us with options, and letting us decide.”

The solution was to turn an existing room into a state-of-the-art Esports classroom accommodating specialised student desks to create a unique learning experience.

CDW entrusted two of its most trusted partners to help deliver the solution for DLD College. For the gaming tech hardware, CDW brought in Corsair, an organisation that has been designing and selling gaming PC components, systems, and peripherals for over 20 years. It is one of the top three gaming brands in the market and offered the complete package, with the technology DLD College needed and the capabilities to link it all together on the same system. Regarding the customised furniture, CDW implemented TOP-TEC, an Esports specialist firm that designed a set of two 6-seat Warrior Stations that offered the perfect blend of functionality, comfort, and aesthetics – and sat easily within DLD's budget.

Time was of the essence. Discussions began in April; school closed at the end of June, and the program needed to be running at speed by mid-October. The implementation took just under six months to conclude, which was remarkable considering work could not happen while students were in the room. “The detail and attention that CDW, Corsair and TOP-TEC put into ensuring we got what we needed were amazing,” Copley notes.

Neil Bailey, Head of Education at CDW says the school’s needs came first. “Once we spoke at the Bett show, it became clear to everyone that CDW could cater to all of DLD College’s needs with our exclusive partnerships. Vendor partners, suppliers, and furniture – getting a solution in place became a minimal effort on the part of the college.

“We've noticed a lot of colleges thinking they need the best of everything, highest-end graphics cards, for example, and that just isn't the case,” says Bailey. “It's often overkill for what they're trying to achieve. We outlined a solution that would hit the titles they're running in terms of the gameplay while also keeping it cost-efficient.”

CDW worked closely with DLD College and our trusted technology partners Corsair and TOP-TEC to deliver the project to the tight deadline, and when the DLD students arrived back at college, the Esports facility was ready.

DLD College now has a state-of-the-art Esports facility that means their students can undertake a BTEC qualification which has been developed in partnership with the British Esports Association, the first of its kind in the world.

The course is inclusive and cross curricular, and the facility allows students to undertake practical activities and occupationally fit for purpose assessments. As well as bringing them into a social community, the course offers students many transferable skills and enables them to secure a variety of roles, from marketing and design to careers in tech, digital, and STEM industries, like UI/UX design, cloud solutions, and software development. They can also enter a career in the Esports industry, one of the fastest growing in the world, in a number of roles.

Copley is overjoyed with the results CDW achieved. “This is a story about mental health and inclusion. It’s about students being treated equally, feeling welcome and included within wider communities. It’s also about students who used to play games alone at home and can now play games in collaboration and competition with other students. Everybody can be celebrated and included at a school with Esports facilities like those at DLD College.”

The success of this project has created a strong partnership between CDW and DLD College which will be used in projects for the future, including an expansion to their Esports facility as the popularity of the course grows and the technology is used across other courses.