ANGELES CITY -- A university research team recently won the best paper during a recent symposium in Pasay City.

The Angeles University Foundation Center for Research and Development (AUF-CRD) research team won the “Best Research Paper” during the 2019 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) Academic Symposium.

The symposium at the Philippine International Convention Center carried the theme, “Building Blocks for National Competitiveness.”

The winning paper titled, “Do cities compete? An analysis of the Philippine Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index”, was authored by Dr. Roberto Pagulayan, former executive director of AUF-CRD and currently full-time faculty of the Biology Department, and co-authored by Sherry Mendoza, AUF-CRD senior research officer; Patricia Joy Magsino, AUF-CRD statistician; and Madonna Valenzuela, AUF-Graduate School part-time faculty.

Around 50 papers were initially selected where 10 finalists were shortlisted and invited to attend the symposium for paper presentation.

The top three best research papers were then selected.

The CMCI is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities developed by the National Competitiveness Council through the Regional Competitiveness Committees (RCCs) with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAid).

AUF-CRD serves as the academic partner of the Department of Trade of Industry in Central Luzon for the conduct of this survey in Pampanga.