TQS / Events & first steps
Quant competitions, events, and puzzles
Find a first step that fits: a five-minute puzzle, a student competition, a hackathon, or a research challenge.
Current events and competitions
This list is refreshed regularly and dated entries expire after their deadline or event. Always confirm details and eligibility with the organizer.
- ETHGlobal Tokyo 2026
Sep 25–27, 2026
Builders; look for DeFi, data, and market-infrastructure topics.
General hackathon with changing tracks. The current calendar confirms the September event.
- CME Group University Trading Challenge 2026
Register by Sep 30; competition Oct 4–30, 2026
Undergraduate and graduate students; teams of 3–5 from one university.
Simulated futures trading on a professional platform. A faculty advisor is required; Germany is prize-eligible.
- Bloomberg Global Trading Challenge 2026
Register by Oct 4; competition Oct 12–Nov 13, 2026
University student teams worldwide; Bloomberg Terminal access required.
Current cycle, confirmed by the University of Ljubljana School of Economics. Check official challenge terms and registration.
- AM Best Student Challenge 2027
Submit by Oct 9, 2026
Undergraduates and graduates at a college with an insurance, risk, actuarial program, or Gamma Iota Sigma chapter.
Solution-focused challenge with exposure to insurance and risk-management professionals.
- Agenthon 2026
Register by Oct 12; final evaluation Oct 13–25; NeurIPS presentations in Dec.
Individuals or teams of up to three; relevant to students and researchers.
Four tracks: quant-finance coding, forecasting, market simulation, and evidence-grounded explainability. Public practice environments and sealed finals.
- QuantHacks 2026
Oct 23–24, 2026
Students and interested participants; hosted by the London Institute of Actuarial Studies.
Teams use statistics, probability, AI, and forecasting on real problems involving risk and decision-making.
- Global Energy Hackathon 2026
Oct 30–Nov 1, 2026
Students, engineers, entrepreneurs, and community innovators.
A 48-hour sprint to design and prototype practical solutions to real-world energy problems.
- ETHGlobal Mumbai 2026
Nov 5–7, 2026
Builders; DeFi and protocol tracks may be relevant to digital markets.
General web3 hackathon, not a quant competition. Check the event page and current tracks in the ETHGlobal calendar.
- NeurIPS 2026 Competition Track
Competition track workshops in December 2026
Students and researchers; each competition has its own rules and deadlines.
Interdisciplinary AI and science challenges, including Agenthon. NeurIPS is not generally a trading competition.
Try it for yourself
- Jane Street Puzzles
New math and logic puzzles every month or two, for solo or group puzzling.
- Jane Street Probability Playing Cards
A deck of probability and reasoning problems.
- Euronext Trading Game
Seven-month market simulation with a virtual portfolio and delayed data; no prior knowledge needed.
- WorldQuant BRAIN
Learning materials and historical market data for developing and simulating simple signals.
What other quant societies do
Some formats are only for members of the host university. Public competitions and internal society activities are distinguished here.
- Imperial AlgoSoc
Inter-university Algothon, society exchange simulator, bootcamp, course, Markets 101, and weekly quant sessions.
- Oxford Quantitative Trading Society
OXDAQ, a society-built order-book simulator for student strategies, alongside teaching and small research teams.
- UCL Trading Society
TraderMath competitions, market simulations, career panels, and practical workshops.
- Amsterdam Quant Society
Workshops and talks on options, market making, banking risk, asset management, and commodities.
- Traders at Berkeley
Intercollegiate trading competition, trading invitational, quant career fair, introductory course, and firm talks.
- B&R Beurs
Student society with investment groups, career events, market commentary, and a jobs board.