NUDC 2013: USU Leads Medan Domination in Region 1

Universitas Sumatera Utara (Elsyam Maulana & Frederick Samuel) won the Region 1 selection for the 2013 National Universities Debating Championships after defeating Politeknik Negeri Medan, Politeknik Unggul LP3M and STIE Institute of Trade and Business in an all-Medan final. Four other schools also earned tickets to go to the nationals next month after they reached the semifinals. Three of them - Universitas Negeri Medan, Universitas Darma Agung and Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara - also come from the North Sumatra provincial capital. Universitas Syiah Kuala from Banda Aceh became the only non-Medan team that made the cut from Region 1, which covers North Sumatra and Aceh provinces.    

NUEDC 2012: Undip, Malang Win Regional Qualifiers

Universitas Diponegoro (Edward Sutanto & Rizky Akita) and Universitas Negeri Malang (Nadiyah & Umar Pradhani) yesterday not only took home a ticket to the 2012 National Universities English Debating Championships next month but also the best team title of their respective regions. Undip won the Region VI (Central Java) qualifiers while UM topped Region VII (East Java). Each of the 12 regions is entitled to send 8 teams to the national round so all regional semifinalists qualify for the main stage. A school is only allowed to register one pair for the regionals, which cannot change if they make it to the nationals.

Some regions completed their selections last month. Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara and Universitas Palangkaraya came first in Region I (North Sumatra & Aceh) and Region XI (Kalimantan) respectively. The rest are scheduled to finish theirs before the end of May. The regions where last year's finalists came, Region III (Greater Jakarta) and Region IV (West Java), will hold their qualifiers on May 14-16. The regions mimic the geographical divisions of private universities in Indonesia. The bureaucratic unit that administers each division is known as Kopertis.