The APOGEE English Press sat down with the secretary of the Quant Club to gain an insight into the club’s work and its plans for the fest.

He explained that the Quant Club, one of the newer clubs on campus, primarily works toward building a culture of quantitative finance at BITS Pilani. He explained that the club exists to address what he described as a chicken-and-egg problem: companies hesitate to recruit from campus, believing that the students here are underprepared, while the students don’t prepare, believing that companies won’t come. The club aims to bridge this gap through internal projects, knowledge sessions, and industry talks that equip members and the wider student body with relevant skills and exposure.

Devesh mentioned their APOGEE event, How To Quant, is a panel discussion featuring two industry professionals—one from Trexquant and another from Millennium, both prominent players in the world of high finance, specifically within the realm of hedge funds—alongside a club member. He noted that while last year’s talk offered a broad overview of life as a quantitative analyst, this edition would be more technical in nature, catering to an audience already inclined toward the field.

On the preparation front, he mentioned that outreach to speakers had begun two to three months prior, with the club also leveraging the network of their Faculty In-Charge—Professor Debata, from the Economics and Finance department, to identify suitable guests. By the time of the interview, speakers had been finalised and travel arrangements confirmed, with publicity through posters and mailers currently underway.

Regarding challenges, the secretary noted that several event ideas, including hackathons and technical competitions, had to be scrapped due to logistical constraints, as such formats require a longer time window than Apogee’s four to five-day schedule allowed. He appreciated the CoStAA for being supportive throughout, particularly given that the event was not revenue-generating.

On coordination, he highlighted that while juniors were given responsibilities to help them gain event-planning experience, second and third-year students closely supervised all major tasks to ensure smooth execution.

On an ending note, Devesh urged the student body to attend the talk with an open mind, emphasising that quantitative finance is not an exclusive field reserved for a select few, and that the club remains a resource for anyone looking to explore it further.