Competitions & challenges

Trading competitions, datathons, puzzles and olympiads that quant recruiters notice. Sorted by next deadline.

Open to register

Susquehanna International Group (Susquehanna Predictions) Starts in 2 days trading

Susquehanna Predictions Cup
- 1 Oct 2026 · Starts
- 4 Nov 2026 · Ends
Who: Undergrad, grad and PhD students of age of majority in ~33 eligible countries (US, Canada, UK, Australia, ...); free
Prizes: 1st $30,000, 2nd $5,000, 3rd $2,500
Simulated prediction-market trading on elections and events with 100,000 'SUSQies'. Low barrier and a good fit for SIG's probability and betting-style interviews. Register via sig.thesuper.market.
Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Takes place in 67 days olympiad

William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition
- 5 Dec 2026 · Takes place
Who: Undergraduates at US/Canadian colleges; registered through a local supervisor at your school
Prizes: Cash prizes for top individuals and teams; top-500 ranking is a well-known recruiting signal
From 2026 the exam runs as four 90-minute sessions instead of two 3-hour ones. A strong score is a CV line quant firms screen for. Check that your school has a registered supervisor before Nov 15.
Citadel & Citadel Securities with Correlation One Registration closes in 104 days datathon

Citadel Women's Datathon
- 11 Jan 2027 · Registration closes
Who: Women undergrads (18+) at US/Canada universities, expected graduation Dec 2026-Jun 2028
In person in Miami; decisions by Jan 19. Requires a 60-minute Correlation One assessment. A good recruiting touchpoint with Citadel and Citadel Securities.
Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto Starts in 142 days trading

Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC)
- 18 Feb 2027 · Starts
- 20 Feb 2027 · Ends
Who: Current undergrad/grad students; one team of 4 (+2 subs) per university
Cases run on the RIT trading simulator, with 40+ universities taking part. Team slots are per university, so selection happens through your school's trading club in the fall.

Registration closed, happening soon (3)

WorldQuant BRAIN Happening in 7 days trading

International Quant Championship (IQC)
- 6 Oct 2026 – 7 Oct 2026 · Global Finals Singapore
- Dates tentative
Who: University students worldwide; teams of 1-4 from the same university; free
Prizes: 2026: $100K total pool; Global Finals 1st $20K, 2nd $12K, 3rd $8K; national/regional Stage 2 prizes
Alpha-research competition on WorldQuant's BRAIN platform. WorldQuant says 80+ participants have received job offers; top performers can get BRAIN consultant roles or internships.
Citadel (with Harvard Financial Analysts Club) other

Citadel Fall Pitch Competition
- 24 Oct 2026 · Ends
Who: Teams of 2-4 undergrads (18+) at US/Canada universities graduating Dec 2026-May 2029
Prizes: Up to 8 finalist teams flown to Citadel NYC (travel + 2 nights lodging)
Long/short equity pitch (2-page memo plus valuation model) on one of 8 set tickers. Fundamental investing rather than quant. Only teams that filed the interest form can submit.
Cornell Quant Fund trading

Cornell Trading Competition
- 24 Oct 2026 · Takes place
Who: Undergrad and master's students at US/Canada universities
Prizes: $12,000 total
Held at Cornell Tech in NYC with 13 industry sponsors. Accepted teams compete on the day; good networking with sponsor firms.

Dates to be announced

Traders at Berkeley trading

Berkeley Trading Competition

Usually: Late Feb/early March at UC Berkeley (2026: Feb 28-Mar 1); applications open in winter
Who: Undergrad and grad students
Prizes: $20,000 cash pool
The West Coast's main intercollegiate trading competition. Recruiters from Citadel, Jane Street, Optiver, Jump, DRW, SIG, HRT and others attended in 2026.
Citadel & Citadel Securities with Correlation One datathon

Citadel / Citadel Securities Regional Datathons

Usually: Several per year (East Coast, West Coast, SoCal regionals etc., fall and spring); no fall 2026 regional dates found
Who: University students (US/Canada regional events; varies by event); 60-minute assessment quiz to be accepted
Prizes: Cash prizes (historically ~$15K+ per event)
Team data-science case on a large dataset, presented to judges. Strong finishers get fast-tracked in Citadel recruiting; Correlation One runs an interest form for upcoming events.
Citadel Securities other

Citadel Securities Quant Invitational

Usually: US: 5-day event in Miami in January (2026 ran Jan 12-18; applications opened late Aug 2025, deadline Oct 10, 2025). EMEA: London Apr 15-18, 2026 (deadline Mar 6, 2026)
Who: Invite-only; sophomore STEM undergrads (US edition); separate EMEA edition for European students
Prizes: All-expenses-paid; prizes for winners
Research challenge for sophomores and a direct path to Citadel Securities quant research internships. If the 2027 US edition follows the 2026 pattern, applications close around early to mid October.
Citadel Securities trading

Citadel Securities Trading Invitational

Usually: Spring; 2026 application deadline was Mar 18, 2026
Who: First- and second-year undergraduates
Prizes: Prizes for winners; travel and accommodation covered
A simulated trading scenario plus an introduction to the quant trader role, feeding Citadel Securities trading internships. Freshmen and sophomores should watch for the winter application window.
Citadel & Citadel Securities with Correlation One datathon

Citadel Summer Invitational Datathon

Usually: Summer; applications typically in spring
Who: Undergrads (18+) at US/Canada universities (grad-year window set per cycle)
Invitational version of the Citadel datathon, held in summer. Applications usually open in spring.
Duke FinTech (Gothic Hedge Society) trading

Duke FinTech Trading Competition

Usually: Rolling/multi-month paper-trading seasons via Interactive Brokers; site said fall 2026 rules would be posted Aug 2026
Who: Open sign-up year-round (students and non-students)
Paper trading ranked by Sharpe ratio, then geometric return, with skill brackets. A low-stakes way to practise.
IBM Research - Israel puzzle

IBM Ponder This

Usually: New puzzle each month (e.g. Sept 2026: Loeschian Arithmetic Progressions); ~1 month to submit to ponder@il.ibm.com
Who: Anyone
Prizes: None; solvers listed
Computational and combinatorial puzzles that often need code. Good practice for research-style problems.
IMC Trading trading

IMC Prosperity

Usually: Spring. 2026 (Prosperity 4): registration/tutorial Mar 16, rounds Apr 14-30. Prosperity 5 (2027) not yet announced
Who: University students worldwide (18+), teams of up to 5; prior top-10 finishers can't rank
Prizes: USD 50K pool in 2026 (1st $25K, 2nd $10K, 3rd $5K, manual-trading winner $5K)
Free, online algorithmic (Python) and manual trading rounds over about two weeks. The best-known open quant trading competition; strong finishes are a real CV line and IMC recruits from it. Past write-ups make good winter practice.
Jane Street trading

Jane Street Electronic Trading Challenge (ETC)

Usually: Held at various campuses/offices through the year (e.g. Seoul National University May 9, 2026)
Who: Invite/application via partner universities; usually penultimate/pre-penultimate-year students; teams of 2-3
Prizes: Cash prizes for winning teams
A day-long bot-building contest on a simulated exchange, run largely as a recruiting event. Watch Jane Street's programs page and your career centre.
Jane Street puzzle

Jane Street Estimathon

Usually: Campus events throughout the academic year, often Oct-Nov
Who: University students; hosted at specific campuses (in person or virtual)
Teams get 30 minutes for 13 Fermi-estimation questions answered as intervals. Fun, low-commitment, and gets you on Jane Street's radar.
Jane Street puzzle

Jane Street Monthly Puzzle

Usually: New puzzle roughly every month, answers due by end of month; archive with solutions stays online
Who: Anyone
Prizes: None; correct solvers are credited publicly
Interview-style puzzles and a small talking point. The archive, with solutions, is a free problem bank.
Numerai datathon

Numerai Tournament

Usually: Weekly rounds year-round; submissions open each weekend
Who: Anyone
Prizes: Payouts in NMR based on staked model performance (stakes can also be burned)
Obfuscated stock-market data for ML modelling. Free to submit without staking; a live track record is a good portfolio project for research applications.
Citadel & Citadel Securities with Correlation One other

Terminal (AI coding competition)

Usually: Several regional events per year; 2026 High School Terminal ran Jul 13-20 (deadline Jul 6). No fall 2026 university dates found
Who: University students (regional events, e.g. US/Canada undergrad/master's); separate APAC and high-school editions
Prizes: Cash prizes (e.g. $25K East Coast Regional)
Tower-defense style algorithm game (Python/Java/Rust) where teams compete head-to-head. Aimed at software and quant-dev candidates, and a Citadel recruiting pipeline.
Traders@MIT trading

Traders@MIT Intercollegiate Trading Competition

Usually: Spring at MIT (2026: Apr 25-26); applications typically announced around January
Who: University students by application, teams of up to 2 (~120 competitors)
Prizes: $20,000+
Two cases released on the day; meals and housing provided, with networking at sponsor trading firms.
University of Chicago trading

UChicago Trading Competition (Midwest Trading Competition)

Usually: April in Chicago (2026: Apr 10-11); applications due mid-January (2026 deadline Jan 15)
Who: Undergrad freshmen and sophomores only; teams of 3-4 with at least one Python programmer
Prizes: ~$15,000+ in prizes; hotel covered and travel partly subsidized
Algorithmic trading cases, with a dozen or more trading firms networking with contestants. One of the best early-career signals for freshmen and sophomores.
Yale Student Quantitative Finance Organization trading

Yale Undergraduate Trading Competition (YUTC)

Usually: Early April at Yale (2026: Apr 4-5, 203 participants from 43 universities)
Who: Undergraduates (application-based)
Prizes: $10,000+ pool; expenses covered
Presented by Hudson River Trading in 2026, so a good HRT touchpoint. A 2027 edition is planned.

Past contests & practice datasets (6)

G-Research on Kaggle kaggle

G-Research Kaggle Competitions

Usually: Irregular: Crypto Forecasting ran Nov 2021-May 2022 (submissions closed Feb 1, 2022; live evaluation to May 2022)
Who: Anyone (Kaggle rules)
Prizes: $125,000 (Crypto Forecasting)
Short-term return forecasting for 14 crypto assets. A good practice dataset.
Hull Tactical on Kaggle kaggle

Hull Tactical - Market Prediction (Kaggle)

Usually: Launched 2025; competition end date Jun 16, 2026
Who: Anyone (Kaggle rules)
Prizes: $100,000 total ($50,000 first)
Predict S&P 500 excess returns under a volatility constraint, scored with a modified Sharpe ratio. Now a practice dataset.
Jane Street on Kaggle kaggle

Jane Street Kaggle Competitions

Usually: Irregular: Market Prediction (2020-21); Real-Time Market Data Forecasting launched Oct 14, 2024 with final submissions Jan 2025 then a live forecasting phase
Who: Anyone (Kaggle rules)
Prizes: Cash prizes (varies by competition)
The most-entered Kaggle finance contest (3,700+ teams). Past data and top solutions are excellent practice material.
Optiver on Kaggle kaggle

Optiver Kaggle Competitions

Usually: Irregular: Trading at the Close ran Sep 20, 2023-Mar 22, 2024 (entry deadline Dec 13, 2023)
Who: Anyone (Kaggle rules)
Prizes: $100,000 (Trading at the Close)
Predicting NASDAQ closing-auction moves; 4,400+ teams. The data and top solutions remain good practice.
Optiver trading

Optiver Ready Trader Go

Usually: Last edition 2023; site says to follow Optiver for the next one
Who: Students (per edition)
Prizes: Cash prize for top finishers in the finals
Build a market-making bot on Optiver's simulated exchange. Last run in 2023; follow Optiver for the next edition.
Two Sigma on Kaggle kaggle

Two Sigma Kaggle Competitions

Usually: Irregular: 'Using News to Predict Stock Movements' (2018)
Who: Anyone (Kaggle rules)
Return prediction from news and market data. A good practice dataset.

Competitions & challenges

Open to register

Dates to be announced

Get Monday's issue