Faculty of Engineering
Championships: 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016
Back-to-back champion Faculty of Engineering is looking to grab its third straight Pautakan crown by brushing up on the humanities category, its major weakness last year.
Engineering team captain Wrenzie Regozon said the team aims to maintain its strength in mathematics, including problem solving, while making humanities lesser of a problem by “gathering as much research materials as they can.”
“We know that other colleges will be very hungry and will be strong this year but as long as we prepare ourselves and continue to stay hungry for the fourth wooden trophy, I think we have a good shot to win it again,” Regozon said.
College of Architecture
Championships: None
After missing last year’s Pautakan, the College of Architecture promises to double its efforts in “showing the Thomasians what the architecture students got.”
Team captain Regime Bastilda said the challenge posed by strong contenders pushed the Architecture team to deliberate on the strengths and weaknesses of each member.
“The first thing we did was find out the strengths and weaknesses of each member. Then, we strategized on how we will divide the categories among the members,” Bastilda told the Varsitarian. “We also consulted our old teachers for reference materials that we could study regarding the categories of this year’s Pautakan.”
Faculty of Pharmacy
Championships: 1994
Last year’s second runner-up, the Faculty of Pharmacy, seeks to replicate its previous performances or even steal the championship it last held 23 years ago by letting each member focus on a specific topic.
Pharmacy team captain Hajime Nakaegawa however said the preparations need not strain the members as they are not aiming for the championship.
“The team loves learning some new facts every day. We just had to assign specific topics depending on the field of interest, but I see to it that we can simulate each topic when we meet. The plan for training is to build up new knowledge every day on our assigned topics,” Nakaegawa said.
College of Education
Championships: 1991
While they lost to a spot in the final round to Pharmacy last year, the College of Education will try to crawl its way up to the final category through the “extensive mastery” of topics assigned to each team member.
“There’s no magic strategy in winning Pautakan because you’ll never know what’s going to happen. All we can do is prepare our minds and our hearts,” team captain John Galt Emberga told the Varsitarian.
College of Tourism and Hospitality Management
Championships: None
Composed of both seasoned and novice players, the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management (CTHM) claims to have devised a “concrete and feasible” plan for the team to achieve at least a spot in the finals.
While the team’s handicaps include minimal experience and lack of training, members are conducting weekly training sessions on different subject areas, team captain Mitchel Ang said.
“Our aim is simple: to not finish at the bottom three for both group and individual categories. But this does not mean we’ll not put up a good fight. We wish to have fun and prove CTHM’s wits in the spirit of camaraderie and fair competition,” Ang said.
UST-AMV College of Accountancy
Championships: 2010, 2014
The UST-Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy, the 2014 Pautakan champion and last year’s runner-up, will try to reclaim the championship from the Faculty of Engineering by focusing on its general weaknesses.
“We’re having the usual training, and we’ll focus on the topics that became our waterloo in the previous years,” Hannah Guzman told the Varsitarian. “Of course we aim for the championship for both categories and in order to win, everyone in the team is expected to deliver during the competition.”
Faculty of Arts and Letters
Championships: 1979, 1989, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009
The Faculty of Arts and Letters needs to recover lost ground after failing to secure at least third place in last year’s Pautakan. In doing so, Artlets will focus on mathematics, as it was a major setback for the team last year.
“Gusto namin maibalik ‘yung kumpiyansa namin sa sarili namin na AB remains to be a strong contender, and of course a little math. Rest assured this year lalaban kami sa math, paghihirapan namin bawat computation,” team captain Imee Camille Advincula said in an interview.
Despite the tough competition, Artlets is proud of the team’s chemistry and teamwork.
Faculty of Medicine aand Surgery
Championships: 1980, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1993, 2007
The Faculty of Medicine and Surgery is gearing for a tight competition after missing the previous Pautakan. Team head Pamm Tangcueki said the team had consulted with its facilitators on study techniques.
“Each of our members are doing our best in academics, absorbing as much information as we can. We’re doing extra readings especially on the history part,” Tangcueki said in an interview.
College of Commerce and Business Administration
Championships: None
Commerce will only begin training in May, a week before competitions, but believes it will achieve at least a podium finish because the team is “made up of people of the same personality.” Less time to prepare, team members believe, will make them more efficient.
Team captain Joshua de los Reyes also aims for an upset and be the first Commerce team to bag the Pautakan crown.
College of Rehabilitation Sciences
Championships: 1998, 2000
For the College of Rehabilitation Sciences (CRS) team, ending its 17-year Pautakan title drought is not much of a concern. Rather, representing the college well and proving themselves as a multidisciplinary practice is the priority.
“We are currently working with some of the faculty members to help us review and prepare for the competition,” team captain Roxanne Subido said. “We actually have no target placing but we just want to give our best and be able to represent CRS well,” she added.
Conservatory of Music
Championships: None
Team Music has been stymied by the Conservatory’s concert season, but captain Jose Javato still aims to secure its first-ever finals spot.
“The team resolved to push through with assigning topics for each member to study, then find time to converge and discuss what each member has learned,” Javato said.
College of Nursing
Championships: 2008
Weekend trainings, book assignments and a review of previous Pautakan questions are Nursing’s weapons in its quest for its first Pautakan crown in nine years.
“Of course our team is always aiming for the best. We rigorously review and prepare to be hailed as champions this year,” team captain Jonah Santos told the Varsitarian.
College of Science
Championships: 1977, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1990
Individual brilliance is Science’s primary weapon in its road to claiming its first championship in 27 years.
Team captain Jacqueline Mallari said team members are reviewing individually. The goal is to have a decent showing in the quiz contest.
Institute of Physical Education and Athletics
Championships: None
For the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA), which will make its second appearance at the Pautakan this year, the goal is to have a good performance and get experience for future competitions.
Team captain Bryan Casao said team IPEA is not expecting anything and is only focused on representing the institute well.
“We don’t mind other competitors, we are just focusing on studying and we hope to see fair competition from the other competitors as well as the organizers,” Casao added.
Institute of Information and Computer Sciences
Championships: None
First-timer Institute of Information and Computer Sciences (IICS) is looking to learn the ropes while enjoying the competition, as well as absorbing the challenge brought by other teams.
The team tapped the help of faculty members in preparation for its first entry in the annual competition.
“We plan to see how the contest works and how challenging it would be. Also, we want to enjoy the moment, play fair, and see the outcome so that next time, we will be more prepared,” team captain Chris Santos told the Varsitarian in an interview.
