The University of Technology has received more than $1 million in free financial software licences to be used by post-graduate finance students.
The analytics software will provide students with simulated operations of over-the-counter derivatives markets. The full-featured software licenses will be used by teachers of the Master of Quantitative Finance — an advanced degree for quantitative analysts, traders, risk managers and financial engineers — in a move that the university said will make it a serious competitor to the world’s best financial education institutions. Numerix will provide the software as an in-kind contribution to the university.
UTS faculty of business quantitative finance research centre director, Professor Erik Schlögl, said the software will benefit teachers and students with benchmarks in live market conditions.
"These are graduates that are already in high demand, with a 100 per cent graduate employment rate, even during the financial crisis," Professor Schlögl said.
"The Numerix CrossAsset platform has become an industry standard for pricing and risk management of structured financial products."
National Australia Bank market risk senior quantitative analyst, Dr Alan Brace, said the software uses models that are bug-free and are well received within the industry.
"UTS students in the degree can not only practice on industrial-strength software, but are also assured of a disciplined framework in which to learn the mathematics of appropriate and up-to-date models," Brace said.