Student teams from Stuart School of Business have excelled in business competitions against teams from other top universities from around the world. Our students’ success is a testament to their hard work and dedication, rigorous academic preparation, and outstanding mentoring by Stuart faculty.
These competitions provide opportunities for students to apply what they have learned in the classroom to solving real-world problems. Conducting research, working on complex projects in teams, and opportunities to network with industry professionals and peer students from other universities are among the many benefits for the participants.
Read about some of the competitions in which Stuart students have been competing successfully and winning awards in recent years.
Curiosity Cup
- A global analytics competition sponsored by the analytics software firm SAS. Each team submits a scientific paper detailing the results of a data analysis project that they have conducted using a publicly available data set and SAS software, and a panel of analytics industry consultants evaluates and scores the entries. [more]
- Faculty adviser: Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing Dinakar Jayarajan
- Recent results: 2024 Curiosity Cup: Astute Hawks achieved the 13th-highest score in the competition in which 107 teams from 19 countries participated.... 2023 Curiosity Cup: SSB Hawks achieved the ninth-highest score, with 52 teams from 16 countries participating.
Photo: Astute Hawks and Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing Dinakar Jayarajan
Chicago Quantitative Alliance (CQA) Investment Challenge
- A rigorous five-month international competition that tests the stock selection and portfolio management skills of university students in a simulated hedge fund experience [more]
- Faculty adviser: Associate Professor of Finance Ricky Cooper
- Recent results: Stuart team placed second in the 2023–24 competition. Read more
“The CQA competition is fierce, and some of the best quantitative finance programs in the world participate in it.”
—Associate Professor of Finance Ricky Cooper
“The CQA Challenge was an awesome learning opportunity about complicated methods of investment. This was the best way to learn how to invest using quantitative methods.”
—Abishek Singh (M.S. Management Science ’19), Quantitative Analyst, Bank of America
McGill International Portfolio Challenge
- Buy-side competition focused on societal issues in which large institutional investors, such as pension plans, play a critical role. Participants create and present proposals for innovative investment portfolio strategies. [more]
- Faculty adviser: Clinical Associate Professor of Finance Michael Rybak
- Stuart teams have competed in the MIPC semifinals in each of the seven years that the contest has been held, with the 2017 and 2019 teams advancing to the finals
- Recent results: 2023 team in the semifinals ... 2022 team received the Best Storytelling award and a Best Speaker award ... 2021 team received the Exceptional Quantitative Analysis award and a Best Speaker award … semifinalists in 2020
“The McGill International Portfolio Challenge is a great opportunity to provide solutions to actual challenges faced by buy-side portfolio managers. It has a good mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis, thus making it more relevant to me.”
— Abdulroqueeb (Harry) Ariwoola (M.S. Finance ’20), Exotic Rates Trading, Societe Generale
CME Group University Trading Challenge
- A global electronic trading competition that allows students to experience the excitement, energy, and decision-making environment of real-time futures trading [more]
- Faculty adviser: Associate Professor of Finance Benjamin Van Vliet
- Recent results: 2022 Stuart team Best Hawk placed sixth out of 498 teams globally and third among 320 teams from the U.S. in the competition
“During my first semester at Stuart I had the opportunity to participate in the CME Group University Trading Challenge with four teammates. The competition was great and we got a chance to trade. I really learned a lot from the professors who were our advisers and from the knowledge they brought from their experience.”
—Saami Siddiqui (M.S. Management Science ’22), Credit Risk Associate, Goldman Sachs
CFA Institute Research Challenge
- Global competition in which students take on the role of equity research analysts and are tested on their analytical, valuation, report writing, and presentation skills [more]
- Faculty adviser: Clinical Associate Professor of Finance Michael Rybak
- Teams with Stuart students won the Chicago local competition nine times, besting area rivals such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University, and DePaul University. Three of those teams advanced to the Americas Region Finals, with one going on to compete in the global finals.
- Watch the 2021 team (Team Sector) give their presentation to the judges (begins at the 43:22 time mark) in the 2021 Chicago Competition
- Recent results: Americas Region Finalists in 2020 … Chicago winners in 2021 and 2019
“I never imagined I would give a presentation in front of hundreds of people and students from many different schools, as I did in the CFA Challenge. I think that was a turning point in my life, which made me more confident than ever before.”
—Rucha Dhopeshwar (M.S. Finance ’24), Listed Derivatives Delivery Analyst, Societe Generale
“The CFA Institute Research Challenge gets students into the process of equity research as it occurs in the professional world.”
—Aiman Moizuddin (B.S. Business Administration/M.S. Finance ’19), Equity Research Associate, Calamos Investments
Google Online Marketing Challenge
- Student teams create Google Ads digital marketing campaigns for nonprofit clients. Google recognizes the most outstanding teams globally as Google Ads Top Marketers. [more]
- Faculty advisers: Professor of Marketing Krishna Erramilli and Adjunct Instructor Ketan Patel
- Recent results: 2021 Stuart team and 2020 Stuart team recognized as Top Marketers
PRMIA Risk Management Challenge
- Student teams research and analyze a real risk industry case scenario and present a risk assessment recommendation for judging by a panel of industry professionals [more]
- Faculty advisers: Associate Professor of Finance Yiwei Fang and Associate Professor of Finance Sang Baum Kang
- Stuart teams won the Chicago Regional competition in 2018 and 2020
- Recent results: Honorable mention in 2021
“The PRMIA Challenge has been a great way for me to use the knowledge from my classes to solve a real-life case study problem, as well as to connect with risk management professionals.”
—Pattama Tongphong (M.S. Finance ’21)
