Nova SBE Public Policy Institute

National Debate Competition

In an increasingly polarized world, ideology often replaces ideas—especially in public policy, where opposing views are too easily dismissed.

The National Debate Competition, hosted by Nova SBE Public Policy Institute, challenges university students nationwide to engage deeply with today’s most pressing issues, from carbon taxes to immigration and tuition fees.

Our goal is to foster informed, respectful debate where strong arguments—not preconceived positions—take center stage.

Join us to sharpen your thinking, challenge your views, and shape the future of public discourse.

Apply here

Inspired by the Oxford Union tradition, each debate starts with a proposition or motion (e.g., “The European Union should levy a carbon tax”), which the two debating teams are informed of in advance. At the time of the debate, each team is randomly assigned to a side of the proposition. This forces participants to prepare arguments both in favor and against a given proposition.

Each debate is judged by a panel of judges, who offer a brief comment and chooses a winner based on set criteria.

Judges are generally diverse individuals, who have current or past experience in policy making.

All of the debates, as well as the comments by the judges, are conducted in English. Check out our LinkedIn and Instagram pages for information on previous rounds.

Please read the Rules and Regulations here.

The Nova SBE Public Policy Institute National Debate Competition is open to teams of university students currently enrolled in any Portuguese university. All team members should be enrolled students (at the Bachelor's or Master's level) at the time of application.

Applications open in September and teams are notified of their participation by December.

Initial rounds are held from January - March. These rounds will determine the final four teams.  The semi-final and final debates will take place in March or April.

If sufficient teams from northern Portugal register to participate, we will organize the first round in two parts, one each to be held in Lisbon (at Nova SBE’s Carcavelos campus) and Porto (TBD). This dual-venue approach is meant to ensure greater accessibility for teams throughout the country.

All subsequent rounds (knock-out rounds and finals) will take place at Nova SBE’s Carcavelos campus.

Applications can be submitted here.

Applications will open in September 2025, for the next Debate Competition in 2026.

Follow our LinkedIn page for up-to-date announcements.

The following criteria are applied:

  • Diversity of team composition: preference will be given to teams with members from different universities and diverse courses of study.
  • Geographical diversity: an effort will be made to include teams from various parts of the country.
  • Academic excellence: preference will be given to students with a strong academic background.
  • Written recommendation from a team mentor.

For further information, please consult the Regulations here, or contact us at public.policy.institute@novasbe.pt.