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Worldquant University

About

WQU is a community of students, alumni, faculty, and partner organizations dedicated to supporting each other on a journey of lifelong learning.

The University

WorldQuant University is a leader in global education, delivering entirely free online offerings that expand access to studies and credentials in the data sciences. The University’s mission is to make advanced, quality education accessible free of cost to capable students everywhere.

Every major industry is growing its soft and hard-quant workforce. Each year, more employers compete for talented people with data science and analytics skills — but there’s a talent gap. WorldQuant University is using financial engineering and data science education to build the multidisciplinary strengths students can apply to their future careers.

WorldQuant University is U.S.-based and accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC). With student enrollment in over one hundred countries, WQU’s MSc in Financial Engineering Program and Applied Data Science Lab deliver a rigorous curriculum developed by domain experts. From anywhere in the world, students are guided by global faculty with industry and academic experience to develop high-level quantitative and data-driven skills in high demand across industries.

The WorldQuant Foundation®

The WorldQuant Foundation was established to benefit society and mankind. Driven by a passionate belief in freedom of education, the mission of the Foundation is to encourage and support individuals in their pursuit of higher education and it supports WorldQuant University and its mission.

Learn more about WQU students and their incredible work.

A Global Model for Education

STEM education focuses on solving real-world problems with math and science. WorldQuant University takes that a step further. We think critically and collaborate with people from other cultures. You learn to think flexibly and learn from other people’s perspective.

2021 Graduate + TA, Ghana
1000+
WQU MScFE Program Graduates
140+
student countries of origin are represented
97%
of MScFE graduates would recommend WQU to their peers

Being able to speak with somebody who has real trading experience was a big benefit of the program. Not only did he talk about markets in general, but he even gave us ideas from algorithms he personally created and used successfully as a trader.

2022 Graduate, Greece

The MScFE program not only made me excel in the area of quantitative finance, but also bolstered my career opportunities with very special skills like machine learning, algorithms, portfolio management.

2020 MScFE Graduate, Turkey
91%
of Lab graduates agree that WQU improved their problem-solving skills
+14,000
currently enrolled in WQU offerings

I would also like to thank WQU and your team for offering such wonderful education at zero cost. On top of knowledge, I've also gained very valuable soft skills such as resilience and perseverance from this course.

2020 MScFE Graduate, Singapore
Igor Tulchinsky

How WQU Began

After serving over 12 years as a portfolio manager and holding over 20 jobs from scientist to video game programmer, WQU founder Igor Tulchinsky founded WorldQuant, LLC, a quantitative investment firm. Igor knew that the exponential growth of data would ultimately change the way the world invests, learns, and works.

In his search to find and develop talent for the quantitative finance industry, a passion for creating education opportunities worldwide was sparked. Igor believed that people worldwide deserved access to quality education and premier resources to work with experts in the field. The result was the first-ever completely free Master’s degree in Financial Engineering.

Board of Directors

John Endrud

CEO, WorldQuant University

John Endrud serves as the CEO of WorldQuant University (WQU) and has more than 25 years’ experience in higher education, working with universities to establish successful partnerships and market innovations. A growth-minded leader who is passionate about education, Endrud is skilled at bringing market strategy and operating models to organizations.

Prior to joining WQU, Endrud served as EVP and Chief Development Officer at Collegis Education, and Chief Business Officer of Academic Programs International, following a successful career with Deltak/Wiley Education Services.

Daphne Kis

President, WorldQuant University

Daphne Kis is the President of WorldQuant University focusing on advancing its global reach. Originally a member of WQU's advisory board, she served as the University's CEO and as Board Director from 2016 through 2023, building the University from a concept to a fully accredited online institution that has impacted tens of thousands of students across the globe with its quantitative and technical skills programming. To further this mission to make education globally accessible to qualified learners, she is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Skills First Alliance, which has developed a skills taxonomy that can be globally applied to close skills gaps.

As a dynamic entrepreneur and leader, Kis has been at the forefront of identifying, chronicling, and transforming trends in technology, education, and business for over 30 years.

Igor Tulchinsky

Founder, WorldQuant, LLC

Igor Tulchinsky is Founder, Chairman and CEO of WorldQuant, a global quantitative asset management firm with over $7 billion in assets under management and 26 global offices. Prior to founding WorldQuant in 2007, Igor spent 12 years as a statistical arbitrage portfolio manager at Millennium Management.

Igor is the Founder of WorldQuant University, a not-for-profit that offers an instructor-guided, tuition-free MSc program in Financial Engineering, and is committed to making higher-quality education more accessible worldwide. He also founded WorldQuant Ventures, a private investment vehicle focused on disruptive companies in technology.

Igor previously worked as a venture capitalist, scientist at AT&T Bell Laboratories, video game programmer, and author. Igor holds an M.A. in computer science from the University of Texas, completed in a record nine months, and an M.B.A. in finance and entrepreneurship from the Wharton School.

Jeffrey Blomberg

Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, WorldQuant, LLC

Mr. Blomberg oversees WorldQuant's global Legal, Human Resources and Data Procurement functions. Prior to joining WorldQuant in 2014, Mr. Blomberg was a partner in the law firm of Withers Bergman LLP, where he served as WorldQuant's outside general counsel. Before joining Withers, Mr. Blomberg was a partner at Pullman & Comley, LLC. Mr. Blomberg holds a JD from Fordham University School of Law and a BA from Colgate University.

Jonathan Marom

Chief Financial Officer, WorldQuant, LLC

Mr. Marom is responsible for oversight of WorldQuant’s financial management processes and Facilities functions. Prior to joining WorldQuant in 2014, Mr. Marom served as Chief Financial Officer at the Rohatyn Group and Global Product Manager for the Plexus Group, Inc., a subsidiary of JP Morgan. Before that, he held several positions within JP Morgan including Manager of Strategic Business Development. Mr. Marom holds an MS in Management and Financial Management and a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University.

MScFE Instructional Team

Ken Abbott
Professor, Zicklin School of Business, Baruch College, New York, NY & Adjunct Professor, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, NY, USA
Sheldon Allen
Financing Risk Manager, Nomura, New York, NY, USA
Ritabrata Bhattacharyya
Chief Quant, 5-Swans, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Co-Founder & Chief Quant, TrueRisk Labs, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Ivan Blanco, PhD
Associate Finance Professor, CUNEF University, Founder & Director, NOAX Trading, Madrid, Spain
Joe Byers, PhD
Assistant Professor, Professional Practice, Finance Department, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA
Greg Ciresi
Director, Cantor Fitzgerald Financial Services, New York, NY, USA
Sergio Garcia, PhD
Assistant Professor, CUNEF University, Madrid, Spain
Yawo Kobara, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Rothman School of Management, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Christos Koutkos
Cryptocurrency Analyst & Trader, Zákynthos, Greece
Darell Moodley, PhD
Senior Quantitative Analyst, Nedbank, Durban, South Africa
Alvaro Remesal
Assistant Finance Professor, CUNEF University Adjunct Finance Professor, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Tiberiu Stoica, PhD
Associate Economic Studies Professor, Bucharest University, Bucharest, Romania
Tea Toradze, PhD
Finance, Accounting & Data Systems Consultant, London, UK
Maurizio Tiso, PhD
Researcher & Consultant, Filbert Capital, London, UK
Michael Olafusi
Valuation Analyst & BI Consultant, Toronto, Canada
Vincent Wu
Instructor and Content Developer, WorldQuant University
Saad Zaman
Director, Electronic Trading, Fidelity Investments, New York, NY, USA

Lab Instructional Team

Ricky Macharm
Anika Zolman-Nacey
Saranjeet Kaur

Staff

Gabriella Maiello

Academic Dean, WorldQuant University

Nicholas Cifuentes-Goodbody

Chief Data Scientist, WorldQuant University

Anne Elbert

Program Director, WorldQuant University

Meikel Varvaro

University Registrar, WorldQuant University

Kasarah Kaushal

Student Success Manager, WorldQuant University

Isaac Suggitt

Executive Coordinator and Assistant to the President, WorldQuant University

Advisory Board

Linda Ban

Global C-suite Study Director, IBM Institute for Business Value

Lydiah Kemunto Bosire

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, 8B Education Investments

Lenore Blum

Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University

Marc Carletti

Associated Partner Management & Advisory Services, MAS Ltd.

Michael DeAddio

Former President & COO, WorldQuant, LLC; Strategic Advisor, LeverData & Backstop Solutions

Bruno Dupire

Head of Quantitative Research, Bloomberg L.P.

Esther Dyson

Founder, Wellville; Chairman, EDventure Holdings

Paul Tudor Jones

Co-Chairman and Chief Investment Officer, Tudor Investment Corporation

Ann Kirschner

Special Advisor to the Chancellor, City University of New York

Alex Lipton

Co-Founder, Chief Information Officer, Sila

Christopher Mason

Associate Professor of Physiology, Biophysics, and Computational Genomics; Weill Cornell Medical College

Mel Ochoa

Chief Operating Officer, Landmark Ventures

David Shrier

CEO, Esme Learning; Professor of Practice, Imperial College Business School

Susan Wolford

Board Member and Advisor

Advisory Board Emeritus

Peter Carr

Department Chair of Finance & Risk Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering

Admiral James Stavridis, USN

Executive, The Carlyle Group; Supreme Allied Commander at NATO (2009-2013); Dean Emeritus, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; Dean, Tufts University (2013-2018)

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