Unika Atma Jaya student wins gold medal as 4th Best Speakers in NUDC 2023
Jakarta, 15 June 2023 – The National University Debating Championship (NUDC) is a national inter-university debating competition attended by 112 teams from various universities, both public and private, in Indonesia.
Universitas Katolik Indonesia (Unika) Atma Jaya once again sent its best team who are members of the Atma Jaya Debating Club (ADC) to participate in NUDC 2023 which was held on 6-12 June at Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University (Untirta), Banten.
After going through various selections, Vinay Ashok Tekani and Geraldo William Gregory Rimba were selected as debaters and Arale Rayhan Subrata as N1 adjudicator as representatives of Unika Atma Jaya.
"I actually really enjoy participating in competitions like this and meeting new people from various universities, so this process is carried out happily," said the Faculty of Psychology student who has often participated in various debate competitions since he entered college in 2020.
For three months, starting from March, the team from Unika Atma Jaya regularly held training on how to argue and convey these arguments in the form of speeches with seniors and ADC mentors, including simulating debate activities to be evaluated in order to be better prepared for the situation when in the real competition.
In NUDC, there are 9 preliminary rounds followed by elimination rounds. Vinay and William as representatives of Unika Atma Jaya managed to outperform teams from other universities in the eighth and quarter-finals to reach the semi-finals, before finally falling.
However, apart from giving team scores, the judges also gave individual scores which were then accumulated and sorted to determine the winner of the Best Speakers category. Of all the participants in the competition, Vinay Ashok Tekani won the gold medal as the 4th Best Speakers in NUDC 2023.
Although NUDC preparation coincided with UAS preparation and made him a little tired, Vinay was grateful that he received tremendous support from ADC members and friends.
He also says that his fellow students understand his busy life and his capacity to be involved in group work. Vinay admits that he is aware of the responsibilities he faces, so he makes the best use of his time. "I also maximise my time when doing group work and complete my coursework well," he adds.
Apart from providing support during the preparation, Anggi Ariskhan (FPB12), Shannon Suryaatmadja (FH14), Beauty Ariel (FP18) and Angellia Giovanni (FP19) who are senior members of the ADC were also present on the day of the NUDC winner announcement, Sunday (11/06).
The presence of these seniors is a testament to the kinship of ADC members where students can freely form close friendships with fellow members, even with alumni who have graduated years ago.
As one of the active SMEs, Atma Jaya Debating Club often participates in various external debate competitions and organises Atma Open.
Atma Open itself is a debate competition as an internal ADC event that is attended by national debate clubs and invites international judges every year. This year, Atma Open will be held on 22-23 July 2023.
