Staff Reporter :
A team of Bangladeshi students has brought honour to home after winning the World Universities Debating Championship (WUDC) 2022, the ‘world cup of debating.’
The students who participated in the debate were Sajid Asbat Khandaker and Sourodip Paul, students of Master of Science in Applied Economics at BRAC University. BRAC A was the first team from Bangladesh to make it to the finals and become champion of the world’s biggest debating tournament, held annually with teams representing universities from across the globe. BRAC University clinched this title in the finals on 27 July.
In the final, Team BRAC A faced Princeton University, the National University of Singapore, and Ateneo de Manila University. During the preliminary and knockout rounds, they outranked Harvard, Oxford, Sydney, and some other prestigious universities.
The WUDC is governed by the World Universities Debating Council, which sets the parameters of the tournament with the rules of debate, eligibility to participate, and the selection of the annual host. Serbian capital Belgrade hosted the tournament this year. However, the event was held online due to Covid-19.
Earlier, the same team has also become the first-ever Bangladeshi team to clinch the championship title of Cambridge Intervarsity (IV) 2021, one of the world’s most competitive and prestigious debate tournaments, organised by the Cambridge Union.
The winning of the WUDC has brought much honour and dignity for Bangladesh and it proves the ability of leadership and shows the intelligence of the Bangladeshi students abroad. The Bangladeshi students from the private university have also created continental history by becoming the first team from an Asian country to become champions at a WUDC event.
The WUDC is the world’s biggest debating tournament, held annually in English with teams representing universities from across the world.
