CME Group University Trading Challenge

Oil, gold, corn, the dollar, interest rates: their prices move every second, and professional traders manage that risk for a living.

These markets set what airlines pay for jet fuel, what farmers get for their harvest, and what companies pay to borrow. Futures traders take positions on where these prices are heading, and they manage the risk that comes with being wrong.

For four weeks, your team does it too. The CME Group University Trading Challenge gives you a professional trading platform, live market data, and a portfolio to manage. You'll compete against about 600 university teams from around the world.

What you'll do

Trade real markets in simulation. Trade futures across six asset classes: energy, metals, agriculture, equity indexes, FX, and interest rates. The money isn't real, but the prices are. When a Fed decision, an inventory report, or a geopolitical headline moves the market, your portfolio moves with it.

Use professional tools. Trade on the CQG platform with real-time market data and the Dow Jones newsfeed. These are the kinds of tools working traders use every day.

Manage risk. Build positions, react to the news, and try to grow your portfolio without blowing it up. You'll learn to size positions, set stop-losses, and decide when to take profits and when to cut a loss. You'll also learn to keep emotions from making your decisions.

How it works

• Teams of 3 to 5 students from the same university and the same level (all undergraduate or all graduate), plus a faculty advisor

• Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible

• Trading runs from October 4 at 5:00 p.m. CT through October 30 at 4:00 p.m. CT

• Last year, 615 teams (about 1,800 students from 174 universities in 25 countries) competed

Why it's worth it for your career

CME Group runs the world's largest derivatives marketplace, and this challenge has been running for more than two decades. Trading firms, banks, and asset managers recognize it.

It's hands-on experience with no downside. Most students interested in trading have only read about it. You'll have traded futures across six asset classes on a professional platform for a full month. That's real experience to talk about, and your mistakes won't cost you anything.

It gives you answers for trading interviews. Interviews at trading firms and on sales and trading desks often ask about a trade you made, why you made it, and how you managed it when it moved against you. After this challenge, you'll have specific answers backed by real market events.

It builds the skills every markets job needs. Reading the news for what moves prices, understanding how asset classes connect, thinking in terms of risk and reward, and making decisions quickly with incomplete information all apply well beyond trading.

It shows initiative. Competing in a global challenge alongside your coursework tells employers you're serious about markets, especially when you can explain your strategy and what you learned from it.

It helps you figure out if trading is for you. Four weeks of watching live positions will tell you more about whether you enjoy the work than any class or info session.

Who should join

You don't need trading experience. Econ and finance students bring market knowledge. Math, stats, and CS students bring the quantitative and systematic thinking many trading strategies depend on. Anyone who follows the news closely can spot what's moving the markets. The strongest teams mix these skills.

What you need is curiosity about how markets work and the discipline to follow your plan when a trade goes against you.

Time commitment

The challenge runs four weeks, and futures markets trade almost around the clock, so your team will need a plan for who checks positions and when. Expect about 5–8 hours a week per person during the challenge. That covers daily check-ins on positions and news, plus a short team meeting each week to review what's working. Spend a few hours before October 4 learning the platform and agreeing on your strategy and risk rules.

Questions?

Email VP Zac Ramsey directly through your Rice email, or email riceeconomicforum@gmail.com