QatarDebate partners with the oldest and first university in the Islamic world to launch the first academic program in the debate field

QatarDebate, a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, announced on Friday, December 3, 2021, during a press conference in the Tunisian capital, the signing of a MOU with Ez-Zytouna University to provide multidisciplinary educational, academic and research programs focused on supporting students and providing them with a wide range of skills. The most important of these is the launch of the “Master of Research in Islamic Sciences: The Art of Debating in Comparative Jurisprudence” as the first academic program that deals with the art of debates globally.

This agreement comes after QatarDebate’s international work and coordination that lasted for years, as this partnership represents the first step in opening new horizons for developing the art of debates in the academic and research fields at the graduate level.

In this regard, Dr. Hayat Abdullah Marafie, Executive Director of QatarDebate, expressed her pride in this new partnership, saying: “We are pleased to sign the partnership and cooperation agreement with one of the oldest universities in the Islamic world – Ez-Zytouna University of Tunisia – and we appreciate the launch of this academic program, which confirms our keenness to explore the art of debates in an academic framework.
Undoubtedly, this agreement reflects the priorities for the sustainable development of students, since the program is offered within specialized tracks that meet the needs and interests of learners.

For his part, Prof. Dr. Abdullatif Al-Bouazizi, President of Ez-Zytouna University, added: “To confirm the consolidation of means of cooperation in areas of common interest and the use of research, intellectual and scientific capabilities between Ez-Zytouna University and QatarDebate, we announce the launch of an academic partnership that culminates in a qualitative master’s project in the Art of debates are in the field of comparative jurisprudence, and fall within the strategic policy of Ez-Zytouna University, which seeks to bridge the relationship with international institutions in order to further improve pedagogical practices and improve educational contents, and then push towards restoring the leadership of Ez-Zytouna University in the moderate and open legal education based on the duality of authenticity, modernity and polarization.

It is scheduled to open the door for admission to study in the master’s program, which was approved by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in the Republic of Tunisia, starting from the next academic year 2022-2023. It is expected that the first class will graduate from it after completing two academic years, during which students will engage in a set of courses of an intertwined nature between the art of debate and Islamic sciences, in addition to submitting a research thesis as a prerequisite for graduation.

In this context, the coordinator of the master’s program at QatarDebate, Mr. Mohamed Khader, stated: “The courses of this academic program have been designed with great care to suit the multiple and overlapping disciplines among them, where students will get various knowledge and training in three main areas: “The Art of Debate and Critical Thinking – Comparative Jurisprudence – and Philosophy and Human Sciences”.