The Integrated Polytechnic Regional Center (IPRC) Kigali has organized a debating tournament for the fourth time whereby technical students are given an opportunity to improve their communication abilities.

The debating tournament held at the IPRC Kigali has been taking place since 2016 and is part of the institute’s extra-curricular activities capable of bolstering up the soft skills among the technical students.

At the event, Mechatronics who were the proposers won and walked away with 100,000Rwf money prize (82% ) in contrast to the Electrical Technology, the opposers of the motion that got (81%) and bagged 50,000Rwf.

The Mechatronics and Electrical Technology teams both from the same institute were arguing on topical issues of globalization and imperialism under the motion “This House Believes That Globalization is Imperialism Repackage.”

Speaking at the event Dr. Alice Ikuzwe, the Deputy Principal in Charge of the Academics and Training at IPRC, Kigali expressed the existing concerns of the science students who meet challenges while pitching their innovative projects emphasizing that the debating competitions will improve their skills.

The Principal reminded the students that communication abilities are primarily important skills that technical students should have.

“For the technicians what you call soft skills will become a hard skill,” she said.

The Principal of the institute further called upon the female debaters to participate in the tournament reminding the organizers to engage more girls in the next tournament.

“We need girls to participate in the debates next year. It’s a challenge that women are not engaged. We want the game changers particularly the ladies,” she said.

Romeo Mugisha, an Alumni at the institute and a judge said the debate tournament will help solve communication challenges in technical schools whereby students are well informed on technical subjects but it becomes too difficult to present their innovations before the clients.

He said; “The idea was to give them a chance to expose themselves by learning and there are assurances that the student’s communication skills will improve even in other conventional subjects.”

Issaie Byiringiro, one among the debaters, said, debating as part of extra-curricular activities is optimistic about the debating emphasizing that it is an added value to his technical courses.

“I don’t look forward to being employed by the employers and the particular skills will help me present my products on the market,” he said.