On May 17, 2022, for the first time ever the Academy hosted a debate in English, organized by the Student Parliamentary Club of the RFTA. The participants of the debate were students of RFTA, MGIMO University and MSLU.

Congratulations to the RFTA team formed of Dmitry Velchev, Ksenia Zabolotskaya, Maria Novikova and Alexandra Karpova, who won the debate.

The Student Parliamentary Club (SPC RFTA) started in 2020. Since then, the members of the club have taken part in debates, discussions, in training sessions and seminars on conducting discussions and in field events.

It is not the first time SPC RFTA team has taken part in interuniversity debate, but it is the first time the students of the Academy have got a chance to test the credibility of their rivals’ arguments on their territory.

The topic of the debate was the statement by V. I. Lenin: "A political leader is responsible not only for how he leads, but also for what those led by him do"

Artem Rodionov (Faculty of International Economists, 2^nd year), who is the head of the SPC RFTA Debate Club, acted as a moderator.

The judicial bench consisted of Georgy M. Alekseenko - Deputy Head of the International Department of the RFTA and Igor P. Dubogryzov - teacher of the English Department of the Academy.

A hot contest, where the rivals demonstrated excellent command of English, endurance and cold blood, resulted in a victory of the team of the RFTA 2nd year students of the Faculty of International Economists:

Dmitry Velchev
Xenia Zabolotskaya
Maria Novikova
Alexandra Karpova

A worthy competitor to our team was the team, which was formed of students from different universities:

Maria Libenson (RFTA, FEM-2)
Dmitry Mikhailovich (MGIMO)
Dimitrios Tsitlidis (MSLU)
Egor Kornev (RFTA, FEM-2)

All participants and judges noted the excellent pronunciation and thoughtfulness of the arguments of the speakers of this team.

Dima Tsitlidis (MGLU): "It is necessary to participate in debates, because it improves the skill of public speaking, the ability to express one's own thoughts in a structured way, helps not to be afraid of the audience, to be in the shoes of supporters of a position that you do not share. All in all, debate is fun, so I recommend it to everyone."

Dima Velchev (RFTA): "I was told that this was an opportunity to practice spoken English with MGIMO students and the Academy teachers. You can interact with members of another team, that is, to analyze and discuss your position, and do the same with the position of the opponents. And get prizes, of course!".

Alexandra Karpova (RFTA): "It was interesting to work with guys from other universities who study at other faculties, specializations. They think differently, consider arguments through a different lens. Debates in English prepare us for professional activities, business negotiations, train the ability to defend your position. Of course, intercollegiate events are great. It's fun, it makes everyday life more interesting, it energizes!".

The organizer of the event - the Chairman of the SPC RFTA, Maria Malakhova (FMF-3) believes that this format of the event will be useful for students of the Academy. “Debating in English will be a great public speaking experience for participants. Thanks to such format of communication, students will be able to learn how to speak fluently, defend their position with arguments, and most importantly, really think in a foreign language, improving their professional level. We plan to further develop this project, interacting with other universities.”