Disceptatio 2.0

As experienced by student participants of the Institute of Design

The Institute of Law, Nirma University and the Nirma University Debate club hosted the second edition of their debate competition, Disceptatio 2.0 on Saturday, 31st August 2024, in which 2 students, Vishesh Jhaveri [23BDP042] and Purnoor Hussain [23BDC041] represented the Institute of Design. The competition consisted of three rounds, prelims, semi-finals and finals, each with their respective topics.

The topic posed for the prelim round was “Whether developing countries should incentivise de-urbanisation?”. Since the topics for both the prelims and semi finals were provided beforehand, students prepared well. Purnoor presented the proposition while Vishesh took on the opposition. Each round had a 5 minute speech time, 3 minutes for opening speech and 2 minutes for rebuttal. Similarly the topic for Semi-finals was “If the technology existed and it was safe, memory erasure should be made available to the public”, promoting the delving into the ethical complexities of such a scenario.

Personally for me, as Purnoor shared,

“The exciting part for each round was the rebuttal. The rush of adrenaline bought by drafting a speech and delivering it on the spot was quite thrilling. In fact the room buzzed with energy during this time around, with table taps and bold arguments that were delivered exceptionally well by my fellow debaters. Unfortunately despite our best efforts Vishesh and I could not make the cut for the finals but nevertheless this competition was far from a loss.”

“Being awarded the Best Speaker in Proposition was a proud achievement for me and the entire competition was a great learning experience which has left the both- Vishesh and me, motivated and eager to continue our journey in debating furthermore.”