Learning pack
Challenge at a glance
How to use this pack
This pack has seven short lessons. Each takes about 10 minutes. Read them in order. Total time: 60 to 90 minutes.
Every lesson has the same parts:
- A learning goal.
- A plain-words explanation.
- A tiny worked example with numbers.
- A box called "What this means in the challenge".
- Three self-check questions. Each answer is folded under its question.
After the lessons you will find a glossary, a rulebook planner, and a short reading list.
You need no finance background and no coding. You need a pen, a calculator, and the patience to work each example by hand once. All numbers in the examples are made up. They teach the idea. They are not real market data.
If English is not your first language, read the glossary first. Every key word has a one-line meaning. You may use a translation tool to look up words. The ideas matter more than the wording.
The challenge at a glance
You play a fund manager. A client gives you a goal. You build a set of rules for a fund. The platform runs your rules on real historical market data and scores the result. You then explain your choices and judge advice from an AI analyst.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Thursday 12 November 2026 | Student portal opens. The practice sandbox (data from 1960 to 1969) is open to everyone. |
| Friday 20 November 2026 | Registration closes on Edept's site. |
| Saturday 21 November 2026, 6:00 to 8:00 PM IST | Workshop on Google Meet, led by CMT Association. |
| Sunday 22 November 2026, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM IST | Elimination round, online, on CMT Association's challenge platform. |
| Sunday 22 November 2026, by 6:00 PM IST | Shortlist published. The top 30 finance students reach the final. |
| Monday 23 November 2026, 6:00 PM IST | Appeals against elimination close. Finalists are confirmed by 8:00 PM IST. |
| Sunday 29 November 2026 | Final round, online, about 2 hours 10 minutes. Edept sets the start time. Results the same day. |
Entry is individual. Twenty students win in the finance track. The top three receive Edept's cash prizes. The others receive Edept scholarships. Edept sets and pays all prizes and scholarships.
The elimination round (120 minutes)
| Clock | Part | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 to 0:10 | Briefing | You read the client's mandate. |
| 0:10 to 0:40 | Part 1: Spot the AI's mistake | You review 10 charts. You see 5 flawed and 5 correct, in random order. Part 1 locks at 11:40 AM IST. |
| 0:40 to 1:40 | Part 2: Build your fund | You use the rulebook builder. You may run unlimited tests on the practice decade. Then you seal your fund. Unsealed rulebooks seal automatically at 12:40 PM IST. |
| 1:40 to 1:55 | Part 3: Explain your fund | Four structured questions, plus an optional 60-word note. |
| 1:55 to 2:00 | Buffer | Everything locks at 1:00 PM IST. |
The round runs on one clock for everyone. If you submit Part 1 early, Part 2 opens at once. If you seal early, Part 3 opens at once. Time lost to a late start or a dropped connection is not added back, except when the platform itself fails for more than five minutes.
The final (about 2 hours 10 minutes). You see how your fund did in the hidden windows. You face a 26-week crisis in the stress room, with four checkpoints of 10 minutes. The top 10, chosen on elimination score plus stress room, then defend their funds before two judges, with a 2-minute pitch and 3 minutes of questions each. Lesson 7 explains the stress room in detail.
Why the data are from the United States. Edept offers cash prizes. A SEBI circular dated 8 May 2026 (effective 1 July 2026) bars monetary incentives where Indian market price data from exchanges or intermediaries is used for education. So the challenge uses US data. The ideas in this pack work the same way in any market.
The rules for students
- Work alone. You may use any free AI tool, book, or website. No paid tool is needed, and none is rewarded.
- Do not share answers, codes, or rulebooks during a round.
- No one else may complete any part for you.
- A sealed fund is final. The platform's timestamp decides.
- Finalists must be able to explain every rule in their fund.
- Identical or near-identical submissions are reviewed and may be disqualified.