Last month, Dundee & Angus College opened up their brand-new esports studio at their Gardyne campus, the first of its kind in Scotland.

It was brilliant to read that the college were dipping their toes into the industry and building on the rising popularity of esports.

So when I was invited to visit the new esports hub by the college’s principal, Simon Hewitt, I was absolutely delighted!

I was met by Laura Louch, the college’s curriculum project lead, to tour around the studio and to see what was on offer for the students.

The space is absolutely incredible and very high tech. The atmosphere is awesome, and getting to see the production aspects was a treat.

I had a blast playing Rocket League and the set up was amazing. It is definitely place that many students will come and enjoy.

Of course, the opening of the studio comes in conjunction with the college becoming the first in Scotland to offer a degree in the esports.

It was great to learn that the course has been a success and that the college are looking to expand it for future semesters.

I was also delighted to hear that the staff set up a club for young people who do not attend college who want to get involved in esports.

I have always championed Dundee’s future opportunities and esports is one industry which the city has the capability of making a success at.

Esports is a huge market which Dundee should get on board with, and Dundee & Angus College getting there early shows the the determination it has to make this growing industry a success.

I do wish, in the wider aspect, we could take Dundee’s potential more seriously as the city could be a real contender as a global esports capital.

I was reading a piece on the Courier website yesterday about readers’ reactions to the huge blow Dundee has been dealt regarding Christmas and the Summer Sessions – and some of the points made were very much something I agree on.

One was the comments people had who are interested in seeing a state-of-the-art arena in Dundee to host events and conferences.

As many know already, the plans for the 4,000-seat esports arena at the waterfront have stalled and I am bitterly disappointed that there has been no progress on that front.

This is something I have been passionately advocating since it was announced in 2020.

I want to see Dundee one day have a venue on the same level as the Hydro in Glasgow and P&J Live in Aberdeen.

It would be brilliant for the local economy and would allow people from not just the city, but Angus, Perth and Kinross and Fife, to come and visit and stay in Dundee too.

It is a real exciting opportunity for the city and I do think in time this could very well happen.

But for now, it is fantastic to see there is a state of the art esports hub in Dundee thanks to our amazing college, which allows it to host tournaments in the city.

I really enjoyed my visit to the college and I look forward to watching the esports hub grow and succeed. The college have played an absolute blinder on this front and that is amazing!