2027 Stevens Institute of Technology School of Business

High Frequency Trading Competition

A global algorithmic trading competition where students design, code, and deploy high-frequency trading strategies in a simulated exchange built on the SHIFT platform.

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Total Prize Pool: $4,800
Team Size: 1–4
Registration Fee: $250 / team
Open to Students: Global
Simulation Platform: SHIFT
Application Deadline: Feb 15, 2027
Competition Period: Mar – May 2027

RequiredPython + GitHub skills. All team members must know Python and GitHub.

51 universities competed in HFTC-25 and HFTC-26

Stevens Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University
UC Berkeley
Columbia University
Cornell University
University of Chicago
New York University
Georgia Tech
Baruch College
University of Waterloo

and 41 moreShow fewer

Caltech
University of Pennsylvania
National University of Singapore
UCLA
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
UT Austin
IIT Bombay
Stony Brook University
Rutgers University
University of Washington
McGill University
King’s College London
University of Amsterdam
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management
WorldQuant University
Emory University
Purdue University
UC Irvine
University of Southern California
Boston College
Fordham University
Villanova University
Drexel University
IIT Roorkee
BITS Pilani
ESILV Paris
University of Bordeaux
Florida State University
Michigan State University
University of South Florida
University of Utah
Clemson University
University of South Carolina
DePaul University
University of Bucharest
Politehnica University of Bucharest
MANIT Bhopal
NMIMS Mumbai
BIT Mesra
Universidad de las Américas Puebla
University of Southern Mississippi

The technology behind HFTC

The SHIFT Platform

A market simulator developed in a research lab and used for teaching, research and competition.

SHIFT (the Stevens High Frequency Trading Market Simulation System) has been developed at the Hanlon Financial Systems Center since 2014. It emulates the essential parts of an electronic exchange: a matching engine, a limit order book for every ticker and a brokerage layer.

A competitor at a trading terminal showing price charts and order-book data during HFTC-26 — A competitor trading live during HFTC-26

Python API

Connect to the SHIFT exchange through a Python interface (a C++ API is also available). Submit market and limit orders, query positions, and stream real-time order-book data.
Order Book Simulator

A real limit order book for every ticker, with price-time priority. Your orders meet replayed market data along with zero-intelligence and reinforcement-learning agents, so fills depend on timing, spread and available volume. Fees and rebates apply, as they do on an exchange.
Scoring Engine

Algorithms are ranked by P&L in weekly rounds under an F-1-style scoring system. Points rise toward later rounds, the best Sharpe ratio earns a bonus, and each team must make at least 200 trades per day.

Explore the SHIFT platform

Stevens School of Business

About / Overview

The Stevens HFTC is a global competition for undergraduate and graduate students. Teams design and run algorithmic strategies on the SHIFT high-frequency simulation platform, which has a limit order book, price-time priority and asynchronous order flow.

Innovation in quantitative finance

Market making, momentum, stat arb and microstructure-aware execution on the SHIFT simulator.
02
Real-world trading skills

Show applied engineering and finance skills using Python, GitHub workflows and the FIX protocol.
- Python
- GitHub
- FIX
Talent for finance & tech

Experience you can point to on a resume or graduate application.

Two presenters stand before an HFTC slide while competitors sit at trading desks — Competitors at the trading desks during HFTC-26

What you gain

Why Participate

What teams get from competing.

01
Technical Skill Deployment
- Build and deploy trading algorithms
- Experience trading on a simulated exchange
- Backtesting and strategy optimization
02
Academic + Career Value
- Experience to list on resumes for quant finance roles
- Graduate program preparation
- Industry recruitment visibility
03
Competition Format
- Multi-week adaptive competition
- Multiple trading scenarios
- F-1-style scoring in weekly rounds

Participant voices

Why Teams Compete

In their own words: what HFTC-26 teams told us they hoped to learn when they applied.

There are not many free HFT simulators online so this competition is the perfect bridge to not only gain experience, but also learn what it takes to develop a winning strategy.

Stevens Quants Stevens Institute of Technology HFTC-26 · 2nd place

…real insight into how trades influence market dynamics in real time, something almost impossible without working professionally in trading.

Peanut King’s College London HFTC-26

More than optimizing performance, we’re interested in learning how to reason through trade-offs, adapt quickly, and make disciplined decisions in an environment that rewards clarity over cleverness.

Irvine Quants University of California, Irvine HFTC-26

Competition rules

Core Rules

The rules in brief.

Competition rules
Trading Assets	Dow Jones 30 or synthetic tickers
Trading Scope	Intraday only
Initial Capital	$1,000,000 (reset daily)
Execution	Fees + rebates apply
Platform	SHIFT Python API virtual machine
Scoring	Ranked by P&L, F-1-style points, Sharpe ratio bonus
Minimum Activity	200 trades per day

Who can compete

Eligibility

Required Python + GitHub skills. All team members must know Python and GitHub.

Who can apply

Open globally to accredited universities
Undergraduate + graduate students
Cross-university teams allowed

Team requirements

Team size: 1–4 members
Team leader required
All members must know Python + GitHub

What matters

Clean engineering practices
Sensible risk limits
Clear documentation and reproducibility

Awards

Prize Pool

Awards for the top five teams, presented after the final trading period and scoring review.

Three members of Spread Snipers hold their second-prize certificate — Award presentation, HFTC-25

Total prize pool

$4,800

Shared among the top five teams

011st Place

$1,800

022nd Place

$1,200

033rd Place

$900

044th Place

$600

055th Place

$300

Get started

How to Apply

Apply by February 15, complete a technical assessment, and hear back by March 3. No application fee. Selected teams register for $250 per team by March 8.

Application

Deadline
Feb 15, 2027

Application fee
None
Technical assessment

Released
Feb 17, 2027

Due
Feb 24, 2027
Selection & registration

Notification
Mar 3, 2027

Register by
Mar 8, 2027

Team fee
$250