Students of IIM Raipur at Rotman International Trading Competition

Here was a vast difference between the technical prowess and practice between our students and them. Right from the word go, the difference could be analyzed by the sounds of hundreds of mouse clicks per second which also reflected the confidence that the students from US/Canadian universities had. The most important factor that made them having an upper edge was that most of them had access to the software; not only that but they also had faculty mentors to help them during the competitions. Moreover, a majority of them were majoring in M.Fin and had some sort of background in finance. To perform better our students need to create a culture, pass on the learnings and start much before to bridge the skill gap. We need to practice more in order to give them good competition. The senior junior combination worked well, though. One thing is ensured that our students have gained a vast amount of knowledge and experience and that would be very beneficial for our juniors.

Our students got a very good opportunity to network and interact with industry experts. They realized that their financial markets were much more developed than that of our country; for example, algorithmic trading was introduced decades ago while it was allowed in India only in 2008. No doubt that in the coming years IIM Raipur will only get better and better setting a realistic target of finishing in top 10 overall in 2 years; if we continue to participate in the same. Talking about the general experience outside the competition, the locals were very helpful and interaction with them was very pleasant. Another striking feature was the diversity in terms of nationalities that were working in Toronto. One thing that was distinctively noticeable was that majority of the entry level jobs were being done by either the Indians or the Chinese. There was a vast presence of Japanese diaspora as well. This proves the potential that Indians have that they are present in such a huge number there. The only requirement is to make the most of our resources and compete them effectively which our students did, and will continue doing in future.