SEF -ITB Triumphed in South-East Asian English Debate Olympics 2011
By UKM Student English Forum
Editor UKM Student English Forum
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id - Two teams from ITB Student English Forum (SEF-ITB) successfully bester other South-East Asian institutions and took 1st and 2nd place in the 2011 Southeast Asian English Olympics (SEO), Debating category. The competition, held anually by Bina Nusantara, hosted numerous foreign institutions such as University College of Technology and Innovation (UCTI) and Universiti Malaya from Malaysia and Thailand's National Schools Debating Team.
SEO's final round saw two ITB teams competing against each other, along with two other institutions; University of Indonesia and the home team Bina Nusantara. Luthfi Abdurrahman (Arts '05) and Karina Patria Soedjatmiko (Environmental Engineering '07) grabbed 1st place while Rifan Ibnu Rahman (Business and Management '09) and Tubagus Andhika Nugraha (School of Electrical and Informatics Engineering '10) took 2nd.
Unlike most debating formats, SEO used the British Parliamentary system, pitching four teams -2 propositions and 2 oppositions, each consisting of two debaters- against each other in one room.
Best Speaker and Best Novice in National Competition
Earlier this year, SEF-ITB also participated in the Indonesian Varsities English Debate (IVED) 2011 in Hasanuddin University, Makassar. The competition, hosting a total of 54 teams, is held annually by the Indonesian debating community.
Out of nine ITB delegates, five took best speaker and best novice awards.
In IVED 2011, the speaker category was divided into two; Novice, for speakers who have never took part in any varsity-level competitions prior to IVED, and regular speakers.
The speakers who won the awards were:
- Rifan Ibnu Rahman, Best Overall Speaker
- Tubagus Andhika Nugraha, 3rd Best Overall Speaker and Best Novice Speaker
- Yosaka Eka Putranta (Petroleum Engineering '09), 6th Best Overall Speaker
- Mohammad Rimba Putra (Business and Management '10), 3rd Best Novice Speaker
- Vicario Reinaldo (Faculty of Industrial Engineering '10), 5th Best Novice Speaker
IVED 2011 also saw one of SEF-ITB members, Muhammad Pandu (Physics '06) as one of the adjudication core; the main judges in charge of creating the topics debated in the competition.
SEF-ITB will compete in several other competitions such as the University of Indonesia Asian Law Students Association (ALSA-UI) 2011 and Java Overland Varsities English Debate (JOVED 2011) in UGM, along with several other international level tournaments.