Abstract
The pedagogical science has always been interested in the problem of identifying effective mechanisms for building future specialists’ professional competencies. The development of telecommunications made educational institutions face the challenge of finding effective forms of interaction between students. Student online debates are one of the forms that contribute to the professional competence development. Methods: surveys and questionnaires, remote collection and processing of information, reduced version of the Multifactor Personal Questionnaire B5-10; Academic Motivation Scale; Short Self-Control Scale; Diagnostics of the Dominant Perceptual Modality; Raven’s Progressive Matrices. Statistical analysis was carried out using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Spearman’s Rank correlation coefficient, and the Mann–Whitney U test was used to assess the reliability of differences between contrasting groups. According to the research findings, students are convinced that participation in debates can contribute to the professional competence development. Students’ diligence was indicated as the main component of motivation for building professional competencies. It was established that most students rate their speeches during the debates higher than they actually are. It was found that students’ participation in online debates contributes to the improvement of professional competencies. Further research should be aimed at studying the role of debates in building professional competencies among students of narrow majors. It is also necessary to develop a detailed methodology of introducing the student debate model into the educational process.