International Quant Championship 2026

IQC: A Global Quantitative Finance Modeling Competition

Are you the next Quant Champion?

Break into the world of quantitative finance and sign up for WorldQuant BRAIN's International Quant Championship - a Global Quantitative Finance Modeling Competition.

Key Details:

• IQC is a global, three-stage, team-based quantitative finance competition. 
• Participants start by forming teams of 1-4 teammates from the same university and compete across the various stages by developing and backtesting Alphas * on BRAIN, WorldQuant’s Simulation platform
• If the team scores well, its members will have the opportunity to compete in the designated finals for their respective country, territory, or region — and potentially in the global championship, which is expected to be held in person in Singapore in September**
• Top-scoring teams may be eligible to win cash prizes from a pool of up to US$100,000, subject to eligibility**
• WorldQuant is always on the lookout for talent, and certain eligible participants who score well in the IQC may be considered for research consulting, internship, or full-time employment opportunities.  

 *Alphas are mathematical models that seek to predict the future price movements of various financial instruments.

**Please refer to the official guidelines for all rules and restrictions

Eligibility*:

• Anybody above the age of 18 can apply
• Certain individuals (e.g., WorldQuant employees, past winners, BRAIN Research Consultants) cannot participate. 

*Please refer to the official guidelines for all rules and restrictions.

How to Participate:

• Step 1: You must register on the Unstop platform to access the competition URL.
  Note: Individual team members can register on Unstop and WorldQuant BRAIN. Teams can be formed directly on the BRAIN platform
• Step 2: Sign up - Sign up or sign into your account on our WorldQuant BRAIN platform: Create a BRAIN account. This step has to be done individually by each team member.
• Step 3: Team up - Form a team of 1-4 members from your university. You can invite other IQC registrants to join your team on the BRAIN platform.
• Step 4: Learn - Access our free learning videos and documentation about quant finance research and modelling.
• Step 5: Compete - Increase your score by submitting Alphas* on BRAIN using historical financial market data and predefined operators.

*Alphas are mathematical models that seek to predict the future price movements of various financial instruments.”

Rewards & Prizes*:

• Cash prizes from a pool of US$100,000
  • Stage 2 (National/Regional) Winners (Total $6,000 in each Finals):
    • 1st place: $3,000
    • 2nd place: $2,000
    • 3rd place: $1,000
  • Stage 3 (Global Finals) Winners (Total $40,000):
    • 1st place: $20,000
    • 2nd place: $12,000
    • 3rd place: $8,000
• Prizes are divided equally among team members in USD currency
• Potential Research Consultant Opportunities, Internships and Full-Time Roles
• Top performers may also be invited to compete in the global finals expected to be held in Singapore in September 2026
• Learn more about quantitative finance, and expand your educational and career objectives

*Please refer to the official guidelines for all rules and restrictions

Free Research Webinars:

During IQC, learn more about quantitative finance, and expand your educational and career objectives, through our Free Research Webinars:

• Register here: Link 
• Every Thursday, from 19 March – 6:30 pm IST
• Topic covered:
  • - 19 Mar: Introduction about WorldQuant BRAIN and International Quant Championship 2026
    - 26 Mar: Fundamental and Model Data
    - 02 Apr: Price Volume Data
    - 09 Apr: Tools & Techniques for building submittable Alphas
    - 28 May: Tips on Improving Merged Performance Score & D0 Alphas
    - 04 Jun: Options, Relationship and Vector Datafields
    - 11 Jun: Working with Newly Released Datasets