The debating team of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) has made a quarterfinal appearance in the English as a Second Language (ESL) category at the Vietnam World Universities Debating Championship 2024. This is the first time IUB has progressed to the quarterfinals in this prestigious competition, held from December 27, 2023 to January 5, 2024.
The IUB team comprised Ahmad Tousif Jami, from the Department of Global Studies and Governance, and Zobayer Ahmed, from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. Their journey to the quarterfinals involved competing in the British Parliamentary format against teams from various international universities, including Ivy League institutions such as Princeton and Columbia Universities.
In the quarterfinals, IUB faced teams from Higher School of Economics (Saint-Petersburg), University of Belgrade, Serbia, and IIT Bombay, India, with Belgrade and IIT Bombay advancing to the semi-finals. The competition’s format allows for diverse matchups, with IUB’s ESL team often competing against English as a Primary Language (EPL) teams based on points and speaker scores.
“The topics debated were varied and complex, ranging from the over-inflation of children’s academic self-perception in education systems to the remilitarization of Japan and the role of religious leaders in addressing extremism. These topics required debaters to be well-versed in current global issues and capable of constructing cogent arguments under pressure,” said Jami.
“IUB’s financial assistance was instrumental in our journey. The support enabled us to dedicate our full time and energy to preparing for the debates, alleviating concerns about covering the associated costs,” said Zobayer.
The tournament, exclusively for university teams, also saw participation from other Bangladeshi institutions such as Jahangirnagar University and Khulna University of Engineering and Technology. In addition, there were several debaters of Bangladeshi origin in the competition who represented other institutions such as UC Berkeley, Stanford, HWS USA, and so on.
The World University Debating Championship is the world’s most prestigious and influential debate tournament. Founded by Glasgow University Union in 1980, WUDC has been hosted 42 times in all five continents and reached thousands of university students all over the world.