Besides CSE, APPS held other events including pharmaceutical symposiums, workshops, and professional development competitions. APPS is a yearly event organized by the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation Asia Pacific Regional Office (IPSF APRO). Due to the conditions of the pandemic, this year's event hosted by the University of the Philippines Pharmaceutical Association (UPPhA) was held online on 2-11 July 2021.

Originating from the wish to train their memory skills, the delegates of the “Ars Praeparandi” Pharmacy Student Association took the opportunity of the competition which tests pharmaceutical knowledge, especially those taught in college. The topics in the competition are pharmaceutical microbiology, formulation and pharmaceutical technology, clinical pharmacy, pharmacology, and pharmaceutical calculation.

The team needed to advance through three rounds before being crowned as winners. Beginning from the preliminary rounds last May, they solved a series of multiple-choice questions and one essay-based question through Google Form in a limited time. As they made it to the semifinals, they competed with 11 other teams to seize the five highest points and qualify for the final round. During this session, they were gathered in a virtual meeting and answered 25 problems in 30 minutes. Each question weights different point values according to its level (easy, intermediate and advanced).

The team gained a ticket to the finals after finishing fourth place in the semifinals with 700 points. The members admitted the most stressful moment experienced was when other teams’ scores are nearing their's for both easy and intermediate problems. Thus, the advanced questions determined their victory as the stage uses a betting-points system.

Good coordination and strategy before competing became the key to success during the final round. In addition, keeping a calm attitude while handling the pressure is crucial. With these in mind, the team devised a plan on betting the collected number of points one day before the match.

“Other teams bet too high sometimes, and that worries us because our score will be behind theirs if they answered correctly. However, we managed to stay relaxed and stick to the plan. This made our score accumulation consistent until the end, and we can relax throughout the match, especially in the last question in which we are guaranteed to win,” Jayson, one of the team members, recounted.

Team coordination that can only be performed via telephone is also a challenge for the team. According to Fairuz, one of the members misheard Aristo’s answer in the semifinals and assumed it to be wrong; in reality, that response contributed the highest points. To avoid this incident from happening again, the team agreed to type answers that are too difficult to convey verbally. They should always be on stand-by in the group to read it.

“Honestly, this is my first time joining the CSE competition and I did not expect to win first place with my team, especially at an international-level event," Aristo admitted. "If you are curious about something- whether it is an activity, competition, or other things- it would not hurt to try first. You will never know if that is your passion yet to be explored. So, learn new things everyday!”

Reporter: Ristania Putri Wahyudi (Matematika, 2019)
Translator: Ruth Nathania (Teknik Lingkungan, 2019)