In the finals, there were 10 teams of high school students from Budapest Miskolc, Nyíregyháza and Debrecen, matching their knowledge and skills, having qualified from the several regional semifinals.
“Holding this competition has become a prestigious tradition by now as a national contest. Today, there are former competitors even amongst our current students at the Institute of English and American Studies or at other units of the University of Debrecen, which is an indication of how good and serious our connection with the high schools has become,” said Tibor Laczkó, Head of IEAS, in his opening address.
“The teams that have made it to the finals are obviously all winners. We know that it is a feat itself that they can do research, use arguments, and debate in a foreign language at such a high level, which represents a kind of ability and set of skills that may be advantageous for them even in everyday life,” said Professor Donald E. Morse, one of the faculty members at the institute.
The central topic in this year’s finals was to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of economic activities based on internet and smart-phone applications, for and against which the competitors had to argue in English, as a matter of course.
The grand final of the contest on Friday was held with the participation of the teams “BrainStorm” from Debrecen’s Ady Endre Gimnázium [Endre Ady High School] and “Ladies of Debate” from Miskolc’s Avasi Gimnázium [Avas High School]. The competition in the final was rather tight, but it was finally won by the team from Debrecen.
The winners received passes for Campus Fesztivál, but even the runners-up were generously awarded for their performance by a variety of sponsors, including American Corner, the American Embassy in Budapest, Agóra Tudományos Élményközpont [Agóra Science Centre], and the Student Self-Government of the Faculty of Humanities.
The university’s own Multimédia és E-learning Technikai Központ [Multimedia and E-Learning Technical Centre] recorded several parts of the event, which they plan to use later in educational materials to be prepared for high school teachers.
Press Office
