Why Debate?

Confidence, strategy, rhetoric; all skills that an engineer needs, or the world will eat you alive when you try to pitch an idea other people don’t yet understand. Debating encompasses all of these elements. It will turn you into a more confident public speaker, hones your argumentation skills and lets you think critically about a wide range of phenomena in society.

This is where debating becomes a valuable extra-curricular activity. Would you like to become a better speaker, test your reasoning skills on hot topics in society, and become part of an amazing group of people? Join us in the library on Thursday nights! Check out our Facebook page for details about the most recent gathering.

Community

About half of our members are international students at the TU Delft. From first-year students to PhD’s, all have joined our ranks, from almost all faculties. This diversity leads to ever-interesting discussions and a powerful network of friends. We also maintain contact with other debating societies in the Netherlands. The debating community in the Netherlands consists of a few hundred members, who you will frequently see at debating tournaments and other related activities.

As a student society we do more than just debating. We often meet up to socialise as well. After each debating session, we usually go for drinks in town, and we periodically organise socials to get to know each other better.

Tournaments

Throughout the year, debating societies organise their own tournaments. Here, a large part of the debating community gathers to compete in teams of two for eternal glory – and a nice trophy. We participate in both English and Dutch tournaments, and sometimes even abroad. Last year, our society participated in over 10 tournaments throughout the Netherlands. In August 2016, six of our members flew to Athens to participate in Athens Open, and enjoy sunny Greece afterwards.

Other Events

Aside from competitive debating, we also organise workshops to improve presentation and argumentation skills. Check out our Facebook page for coming events.

Together with Studium Generale and TU Delta, we also moderate large debates around the campus and in Delft. These debates are different than our competitive debates, and involve experts in their own fields who form a panel to clash about a burning topic in society.