Trading Floor Tackled In High Pressure Finance Challenge
21 November 2012
From top to bottom: Tak Cheung (black jacket), Nasir Awan and (foreground) Lidan Hu - University of Derby Masters degree International Business and Finance students - taking part in the 2012 University Trading Challenge.
All of this will give them the skills and knowledge to develop their potential careers in finance.
”University of Derby Melanie Powell, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader MSc International Business and Finance.
The simulated trading floor.
Business students from the University of Derby bought and sold millions of pounds worth of virtual currencies, metals and shares in a national challenge to test financial market trading skills.
A team of three Derby Masters degree (MSc) International Business and Finance students took part in the 2012 University Trading Challenge, held at the London campus of Coventry University. Their trading skills were pitted against 16 teams from UK universities including Greenwich, City University London, Coventry, Kingston and Brighton.
In the run up to the contest the teams had to analyse the peaks and troughs of real market prices and news data in a simulated market, buying and selling as a team at the right times to make a profit. The Derby team included Nasir Awan, 23; Tak Cheung, 26; and Lidan Hu, 23.
At the London final they then had to trade in virtual commodities and currencies on a simulated City financial trading floor as individual traders, hoping to beat the shifting market prices and their peers. They also designed and pitched a financial risk management strategy for their 'client', a simulated international firm; with their efforts then judged by leading City of London finance experts.
Melanie Powell, University of Derby Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader for MSc International Business and Finance, said it had been a great learning experience for the students.
She added: "Just taking part in this sort of challenge takes nerves of steel and attention to detail. All of this will give them the skills and knowledge to develop their potential careers in finance.
"The students also got to visit the real world market trading floor at Lloyds Bank City of London HQ, to see how world financial trading is really done."
The trading challenge, which was won on 9 November by a team from the University of Greenwich, was organised by University Trading Challenge and CapitalWave Inc, which runs training simulations for financial market companies.
For further press information please contact Sean Kirby, University of Derby Press and PR Officer, on 01332 591891 and email: s.kirby@derby.ac.uk
