The Korea Esports Industry Association is gearing up to host the 2026 Korea Esports Industry Association Autumn Conference on October 2 at Room 5101 of Jisung Hall, Osan University.

Under the theme 'The Era of Three Mega Projects: The Future of Esports Education and Talent Training Strategies,' this conference dives straight into shifting paradigms for esports education and mapping out strategies for tomorrow's talent amidst rapid industry and educational changes. Expect plenty of discussions on the educational and political roles of esports as a core national strategic industry.

The event is co-hosted and co-organized by the Osan University Anchor Project Group, the Korea Esports Industry Association, and the Korea Society of Sport Science Esports Industry Committee, with sponsorship from the Korea Game Policy Association and cooperation from the Digital Content Design Department of Osan University. Discussions will center on building a future-proof esports education system fusing AI, data, contents, management, marketing, and esports science. In particular, attendees will explore core competencies required for future esports talent in the era of AI and digital transformation, while showcasing developmental directions for future educational models based on convergence cases between university AI basic education and esports education.

Things kick off alongside the opening ceremony of the Osan University President's Cup National Esports Tournament. Following opening remarks by Osan University President Hwang Hong-gyu and Korea Esports Industry Association President Song Seok-rok, Song Seok-rok, a professor at Kyungdong University, will deliver a keynote speech titled 'Three Mega Projects, Esports University Education and Future Talent Training.' Afterwards, industry-academia cooperation programs will feature presentations from Tupli CEO Kim Byung-joon, Mentalmate CEO Kim Ji-ho, Frevo CEO Cha Bo-gong, Cat's Hand CEO Ha Hee-seok, and Sewon CEO Moon Jung-hoon, all exploring practical links between the esports industry and educational fields.

Moving on to the main academic presentations, ETRI researcher Lee Sang-kwang will cover 'AI-Based Esports Service Automation Technology and Application Cases,' Osan University professor Kim Yong-bin will present 'University Esports Education: What Will We Leave Behind?', and Daegu Catholic University professor Seo Dong-hwi will discuss 'Publication of the Korea Esports Industry Association English Journal and SCOPUS Indexing.' Subsequent oral and poster presentations will unveil a total of seven research results tackling various themes from education and industry fields, including 'A Study on Operating Youth Esports Career Education Programs' (Kim Jun and Jung Yeon-cheol) and 'The Relationship Between Strategic Experiential Modules (SEMs) of LCK Spectators and Publisher Loyalty' (Heo Jin-woo and Kim Se-yoon).

Starting at 4:00 PM, a comprehensive panel discussion will be chaired by Dongyang University professor Kim Jung-tae. Panelists including Honam University professor Jung Yeon-철, Hansung University professor Jeon Young-don, Dankook University professor Kim Se-yoon, and Kongju University professor Choi Hong-jun will dive deep into the future developmental directions of the esports industry and education.

After the academic sessions, an esports academic awards ceremony will celebrate academic advancements and researchers' achievements, featuring categories such as the Outstanding Paper Award, Outstanding Scholar Award, and Future Scholar Award. The closing ceremony will feature former Korea Creative Content Agency Director Cho Hyun-rae delivering a general review to wrap up key discussions and chart the way forward for the industry and education. The day will wrap up with a networking dinner aptly named 'Dinner with Esports.'

The association hopes this conference will forge fresh academic discourse, tighten the bond between national industrial policies and esports education, and spark curriculum innovations across universities to build a robust professional talent pipeline. By laying out a clear trajectory of 'Industrial Great Transformation -> Educational Great Transformation -> Esports Education Innovation -> Future Talent Training,' the association aims to elevate the national strategic value of esports and expand its educational and policy roles to tackle tomorrow's industrial landscape.