On May 22, 2024, 54 attendees gathered in the CIERA to hear the latest installment in the CIERA Connections series, “From Academic to Quantitative Research at IMC Trading“. Presented by Dr. Tom Ilyevsky, Quantitative Researcher at IMC Trading and Tayler Jennings, University Recruiter from IMC Trading, the talk focused on transferring skills gained from a STEM degree into the financial sector.
In particular, Ilyevsky and Jennings spoke about quantitative (quant) trading, with a particular focus on the pivotal role of quantitative research. Ilyevsky shared insights gained from his own journey from completing his STEM PhD to financial quantitative trading and offered a glimpse into his current day-to-day, while Jennings provided guidance on navigating the recruitment and hiring process. 
Dr. Tom Ilyevsky has a PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Purdue University, where he worked on natural-language driven autonomous navigation. In his role at IMC Trading, Ilyevsky focuses on alpha and execution for medium frequency trading of US Equities. Tayler Jennings has 10 years of experience in the financial sector, recruiting for Citadel Securities, Morgan Stanley, and more before joining IMC Trading.
The CIERA Connections series is designed to provide junior researchers exposure to career opportunities outside academia through informal seminars.