Competitions and awards

Jointly organised by Avenir Group and the University of Hong Kong Business School, this global challenge invites university students to explore the emerging field of digital asset quantitative trading in teams of up to three members. It provides a platform for the next generation of talent to gain hands-on experience and showcase their potential in this rapidly evolving industry. 

The competition consists of three rounds between June and November this year, each with distinct evaluation methods designed to comprehensively assess participants’ strategy capabilities and overall performance. The total prize pool is $50,000 with the top three teams being offered internships!

For more information and to register before Monday 16 June*, head to the Avenir - HKU Web3.0 Quantitative Trading Challenge webpage.

*Registration will be reviewed on a rolling basis until Thursday 14 August but please be aware that the first round begins on Monday 16 June.

A fantastic opportunity for science-entrepreneurs has arrived!

Applications are now open for the Develop Phase of Panacea Stars, which enables early-stage deep science founders to de-risk and fund their start-up, whilst competing for a prize worth £100k!

Register now to apply for this great opportunity!

DRW has partnered with Kaggle to launch a new competition that challenges your ability to find signal in one of the most dynamic and complex markets in finance—crypto. Using a blend of our production feature data and public market volume data, you’ll build a model to predict short-term cryptocurrency price movements.

Ready for the challenge? Register for a chance to win a share of the $25,000 prize pool on Friday 25 July. 

To find out more and join, head to the DRW Crypto Market Prediction Competition webpage.

Want to earn an official extra from Imperial on your graduation transcript? Do you want recognition for your employer-friendly attributes? Then the Imperial Award is for you.

Open to all current students (and designed with input from the Careers Service), the Imperial Award gives you a completely private online portfolio to use as a diary or journal. The interactive journal lets you identify your best evidence to enhance your CV and, if you wish, to back up your claim to the assessors (one page of writing). The assessors give written, individual feedback. Multiple assessment periods are offered.

Why? College wants you to develop and rehearse the reflective self-awareness that employers seek from graduates and College is willing to recognise it, formally.

Simply register by logging in with your College username and password, click on ‘guidance’ to watch the promo video and read the Student Guidance pack [pdf], which contains all the information you need to start working towards the Imperial Award. Once you've registered, you’ll hear from the Award team about upcoming workshops and further guidance to support your progress. 

It is free, has immediate benefits, runs all year and could enhance your official transcript.

Find out more here at the Imperial Award webpage. 

This two-day event offers a unique opportunity for students to gain valuable insights into the pharmaceutical industry. It will take place virtually on Monday 1 September and in person on Friday 5 September.

Participants will be challenged to develop viable solutions to real-world barriers that face people accessing healthcare in the UK. Teams will present their ideas to a panel of industry experts, with finalists competing head-to-head in front of an audience of attendees, including senior executives from Lilly and MSD. The event will also be livestreamed to the company, providing further exposure and recognition for participants.

For more details and to apply before 17.00 Monday 28 July, head to the 2025 Hackathon webpage.

Optiver is inviting UK and EU students to test their chess skills for a shot at their championship final and the chance to challenge top-ranked players.

The virtual qualifiers are taking place on Monday 23 June, from 19.00 - 21.30 (CEST) with the live finals happening on Monday 22 September at the Optiver headquarters in Amsterdam!

Register before Tuesday 18 June to secure your spot!

The targetjobs Undergraduate of the Year Awards is an annual competition aimed at finding the best undergraduates in the UK. There are 12 awards, each partnered by an employer who provides a fantastic prize for the winner, which could include a paid internship, a trip abroad or other exclusive opportunities.

Applications for the 2025 awards are now open! Please see the Undergraduate of the Year Awards website for more information.