Compostela Debate Academy 2023
The Compostela Debate Academy is jointly organised by the Compostela Group of Universities (CGU) and the University of Pécs.
It is an online activity to train CGU students in debating techniques to help them in their professional development and future careers, regardless of their academic background.
The third online training course runs from 6 to 10 November 2023.
Objectives
With the online Compostela Debate Academy, CGU students are expected to develop and improve their public speaking skills, learn to formulate and structure their critical thinking, public speaking and debating skills.
Target group
This training activity is aimed at bachelor, master and doctoral students from CGU’s member universities.
Deadlines and dates of the activity
15 October 2023. Deadline for applications.
Last week of October 2023. Publication of the list of selected students.
6-10 November 2023. Compostela Debate Academy.
Tuition fee
This is a free training course for the students of the CGU member universities.
Working language and modality
The course is conducted entirely in English and online, through Zoom.
Academic recognition
Students who pass the course will receive a diploma of recognition.
The following higher education institutions recognise the participation of their students with credits:
- The University of Pécs. 3 ECTS.
In others, this recognition is linked to specific degrees and centres:
- Degrees of the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature from the University of Zaragoza. 1 ECTS.
- Schools of Social Sciences and Arts and Human Sciences, and Faculty of General Studies – Arts from Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. 1 academic credit.
Programme
Participants learn to argue by practising, individually and in groups, the techniques of British parliamentary debate, the basics of rhetoric, the fundamentals of public speaking and everything a speaker needs to know to connect with their audience persuasively and convincingly.
A special part of the programme includes an online debate tournament where both written arguments and real debate speeches are presented.
The tournament is conducted by internationally renowned debate experts.
Full programme.
Promotional flyers
Promotional brochure of the Summer School of the University of Pécs.
Application for participation
CGU students interested in participating must complete an online application form by 15 October 2023, where they are asked to upload the following documentation:
- Letter of motivation.
- English language certificate.
Application form.
Criteria for selection
- English language certificate.
- Letter of motivation.
- Diversity of participants (universities, gender and geographical ratio).
Contact data
For any questions, the CGU team is available at grupo.compostela@usc.es, and the team of the Summer School of the University of Pécs is available at summerschoolpecs@pte.hu.
Resolution of the call for applications
The University of Pécs Summer School team is in charge of communicating by email the selection to the students and being in direct contact with the selected group for all matters concerning the course. For this reason, students are asked to keep an eye on their inboxes and junk mail in their messaging system.
The CGU publishes the lists of the profiles of the selected students, the participating students and the students who passed the course, here:
Profile of the student who passed the course of the 2023 call of the Compostela Debate Academy.
Profile of the student participating in the 2023 call of the Compostela Debate Academy.
Profile of the student selected to participate in the 2023 call of the Compostela Debate Academy.
Academic contacts at the member universities
The Executive Secretariat of the CGU launched a consultation with its member universities inviting them to nominate a person as an academic contact for the activity. These academic contacts will assist students at their institutions in the process of credit recognition.
The information received is published below.
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
Dr Pamela Lastres Dammert. Professor of Logic, Epistemology and Legal Argumentation of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
Email: pamela.lastres@pucp.edu.pe
Zaragoza University
Dr Ramón Plo Alastrué. Professor of Academic English in the Department of English and German Philology of the University of Zaragoza.
Email: plo@unizar.es
Students’ testimonials
Isis Jimenez Arizmendi
Universidad Autonoma de Guerrero (Mexico)
“My experience at the Compostela Debate Academy has been incredible, I met wonderful people from many countries with whom I made a great team, I learned a lot from my instructors who taught me a lot about the culture of debate and its importance, in addition to encouraging critical thinking and self-confidence. I am very happy to have participated in the program.”
Kaina Mehmeti
University of Pécs (Hungary)
“The academy was a well compiled set of lectures and practical work that provided the information in a clear and concise manner. Even though it was a beginner course, I think anyone could benefit from it and I am looking forward to more programs for the future.”
Maksim Vasilchenko
University of Pécs (Hungary)
“The week with Compostela Debate Academy was a truly unique experience. Obtained skills of public speaking are definitely a step forward for anyone who has never done it at a professional level before. Lectures, practice, organisation in general – every aspect of the program deserves the warmest compliments, in my opinion.”
Zuzanna Witt
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan (Poland)
“Participating in the online Compostela Debate Tournament has been meaningful and enriching experience, This course not only strengthened my skills in debating, but also introduced me to new cultures and people from different regions.”
Organisers
The Compostela Debate Academy is jointly organised by the University of Pécs and the Compostela Group of Universities.
