DSI Industry Affiliate Chicago Trading Company (CTC) hosted its 2^nd annual Financial Mathematics Poker Tournament for UChicago students this April. The event, hosted at CTC’s downtown offices, gave students a chance to network with the CTC team, learn about opportunities, and practice some poker skills!

The event was in high demand, with 130 students from Financial Math, Data Science, and other departments shuttled in from Hyde Park and more on the waitlist.

For tournament winner Katarina Li, a Master’s student in the Financial Math program, the event was only her second time playing poker. But that didn’t stop her from winning after a refresher on the bus ride over. “I really enjoyed the event,” Li said. “It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about CTC’s work and culture.”

In addition to student events and recruitment, CTC also partners with the UChicago community more broadly as a member of DSI’s Industry Affiliate Program, designed to bridge the gap between academia and industry. Notably, CTC has engaged with students through the DSI’s Data Science Clinic to investigate the feasibility of leveraging LLMs in new ways to inform CTC’s trading strategy. These are just some of the ways Industry Affiliates can engage students and build recruitment connections on campus.

A huge shoutout to the teams at CTC and the UChicago Financial Math team for collaborating on a fantastic event. The DSI is grateful to work with industry partners like CTC who host students for creative events like this one and professional experiences through the Data Science Clinic. Contact the DSI team to learn more about our partnerships.