V for Success – ProSkill Stock Exchange Competition

The final of the ProSkill V4-SX Competition took place from 16 to 18 May 2022 at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice (Poland). The V4-SX competition (‘V’ from success) is part of the Work Package 5 implementation of the ProSkill project. The main objectives of the competition were to increase the international embeddedness of the local colleges (related to business education and raw materials sector), develop a network among partners and provide students with a basic understanding of stock trading.

Participants of the Final ProSkill V4-SX Competition and partners from the ProSkill project at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice

The competition consisted of two stages. In the qualifying phase, two-person teams competed against each other at the different ProSkill partner universities  In the second phase the winning teams fought for victory in a competition between universities.

Final session of the ProSkill V4-SX Competition

The first phase of the competition lasted four weeks, during which the teams tried to get the maximum profit in virtual trading operations using the SaxoTrader demo versions. SaxoTrader is a comprehensive set of investment and trading features from Saxo Bank, a Danish investment bank operating in the global market. Although the SaxoTrader platform allows to manipulate virtually all known types of assets, students in the competition were able to manipulate raw materials and shares of mineral extraction companies.

Screenshot of the SaxoTrader account of the team from the Technical University of Ostrava

The first place in the ProSkill V4-SX Competition went to the representation of the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice, the second place went to team from the University of Bratislava, and the third place to the team from the Miskolc University. The finalists received certificates of participation and material prizes.

Third prize winners Anna Francuz and Fannie Juhasz from the University of Miskolc. Behind: ProSkill project coordinator Tamás Bakó from the University of Miskolc and Grzegorz Strozik, project partner and leader from the Technical University of Silesia

Winners of the first and second places in the ProSkill V4-SX Competition. From the left: Wojciech Michalik and Anna Wieczorek from the Techncial Universoty of Silesia; Laszló Kosár and Mariàn Pavlik from the Technical University in Bratislava

It should be mentioned that the competition was conducted in a difficult period to generate profits due to the situation in the markets caused by the war in Ukraine. As a result, individual teams converted the starting capital of $ 100,000 into amounts ranging from $ 92,000 to $ 106,000.

Fortunately, however, it was not real money. The main value gained participating in the competition was the knowledge of stock exchange operations, behaviour of commodity markets and listed companies in the complex political and economic conditions of a globalised economy.

Apart from the competition, during the three-day visit to Gliwice, student teams and university project partners could enjoy a rich social programme that allowed students and partners to spend time together and visit the city of Gliwice and its surroundings.