Compostela Debate Tournament 2022
The Compostela Debate Tournament 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 career, regardless of their academic background.
The second online training course runs from 7 to 11 November 2022.
Objectives
With the online Compostela Debate Tournament, 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 2022. Deadline for applications.
Last week of October 2022. Publication of the list of selected students.
7 – 11 November 2022. Compostela Debate Tournament.
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 Microsoft Teams.
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.
- The University of Lleida. 3 ECTS.
- The University of Burgos. 1 ECTS.
In others, this recognition is linked to specific degrees and centres:
- Degree in English Studies from the University of Zaragoza. 1 ECTS.
- Faculties of Social Sciences and College of Liberal Arts of the 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 2022, where they are asked to upload the following documentation:
- Letter of motivation.
- English language certificate.
Application form. Closed call.
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:
Profile of the students who passed the 2022 call of the Compostela Debate Tournament.
Profile of the students participating in the 2022 call of the Compostela Debate Tournament.
Profile of the student selected to participate in the 2022 call of the Compostela Debate Tournament.
Winners of the tournament
Students recognised with the ‘Dynamic Duo’ award in the 2022 edition.
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
University of Burgos
Dr Sergio Pérez Castaños. Vice-Secretary General of the University of Burgos.
Email: spcastanos@ubu.es
University of Lleida
Dr Lourdes Salomón Sancho. Professor of Roman Law at the Faculty of Law, Economics and Tourism.
Email: lourdes.salomon@udl.cat
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
Trainers’ reflections
Tvrtko Noa Pater
Trainer in the 2022 edition
“Communication is the lifeblood of society, all the more so in our modern interconnected world which strives to be based on meritocracy rather than the static systems and relationships of old. And while our reliance on change and the exchange of ideas has exponentially increased, our educational efforts to equip students with the required communication skills have not.
It is therefore a great joy to be part of one such effort. The Compostela Group of Universities has recognised that alongside providing students with the knowledge it is also of great importance to provide them with the skills to communicate and share that knowledge with others.
As a trainer during the Compostela Debate Tournament, I had the great pleasure of working with a diverse group of very intelligent and motivated students. Over the course of the program, the trainer team and the guest lecturers did their best to improve the public speaking skills of students focusing on three areas: core principles of argumentation, speech preparation and speech delivery.
We were quite fortunate to have a very mature group of students who already had a solid grasp of the basics and were quick to implement what they had learned during the small tournament organised at the end of the program. It is my sincere hope that they will continue to hone and improve their communication skills, as the old adage applies here as well – practice makes perfect.”
Students’ testimonials
Almutasem Abufarha
University of Pécs (Hungary)
“Participating in the Compostela Debate Tournament has been a 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.”
Flor Toledo
Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (Peru)
“The online Compostela Debate Tournament was a fantastic chance to practice my debate skills in English. Furthermore, it refreshed my knowledge of debate principles. The teachers and organizers motivated us with their enthusiasm and were always ready to answer our questions.”
Meruyert Akiyeva
University of Pécs (Hungary)
“In this short period, debates made considerable investments not only in my communication but also in strategic, critical thinking, and research abilities. Project managers, speakers, debate trainers and participants created an atmosphere full of competitive spirit and engagement. It was a great chance to test my soft skills and I wish every student could experience it.”
Teresa Martínez
University of Leon (Spain)
“I decided to participate in the program as I thought that it could be useful due to my field of studies, and I must say that the Compostela Debate Tournament exceeded my expectations by far. I was able to learn about debating skills as well as get to know people from all over the world. I would recommend the Compostela Debate Tournament as it is incredibly useful for everyone regardless of their field of studies, it is extremely well organised and the mentors and organizers were very kind and inspiring.”
Organisers
The Compostela Debate Tournament is jointly organised by the University of Pécs and the Compostela Group of Universities.
Previous editions
