Qatar University duo wins debate championship

Qatar University (QU) debaters Mohamed Shaheem and Hayder Ahmed were crowned national champions at the recent sixth Qatar Universities Debating League (QUDL). It is QU’s first top-place win since the championship began.

The annual event organised by Qatar Debates was hosted by Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q).  The final debate motion was “This house believes that developing countries should prioritise economic development over civil-political rights”.

The final round saw Shaheem and Ahmed up against Emad Alam and Zara Naqvi of WCMC-Q, Tarek Hariri and Narcis Jafaria of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, and Arwa Elsanosi and Ellin Francis of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. Another QU team comprising Saad Elasad and Yousif Noureldin got to the semi-finals.

Shaheem, currently studying international affairs, is a student employee in the production team of the external relations (ER) department. Ahmed, a marketing major, is also a student employee in ER’s alumni section. The two senior students are also part of the QU Honours Programme.