As a competitive swimmer, Alannah knows that discipline and dedication are key to success. This summer, she applied this competitive edge to the fast-paced environment of IMC’s trading floor. Attending the IMC Women in Trading and Engineering Programme encouraged her to pursue IMC’s summer internship to further explore a career in trading.

Alannah’s journey to trading
From a young age, Alannah gravitated towards STEM subjects, combining this with her passion for competitive swimming.

When it came to university, she decided to explore her growing interest in finance and data science with a Bachelor of Commerce and Advanced Computing at the University of Sydney.

In her second year, she came across IMC on her university’s careers website and was coincidentally approached by our recruiter around the same time. Intrigued, she applied to IMC’s Women in Trading and Engineering Programme, a fast-paced, two-day introduction to our trading strategies and technology infrastructure.

“I don’t think I fully understood what algorithmic trading was before attending the Women in Trading and Engineering Programme,” Alannah admits. “The workshops introduced me to core finance concepts and included hands-on trading simulations. This gave me the confidence to apply for IMC’s trading internship.”

Pushing boundaries

Continuing her IMC experience during the internship allowed Alannah to build on the insights she’d developed during the programme, diving deeper into the concepts and skills that underpin the world of trading.

“The internship is structured around learning,” she explains. “Each week focuses on different aspects of trading, like arbitrage, ETFs, and algorithmic simulations. This extended format enabled me to develop a solid understanding of these core topics, and there was time to build on our skills.”

One of Alannah’s internship highlights was a simulation exercise based on trading weather as a proxy for equity: “It was fascinating to see how something as simple as weather data could be analysed to make informed trading decisions!”

Taking the first step with IMC

So, what advice can Alannah offer to students considering an internship at IMC?

“I strongly encourage you to apply for one of IMC’s early career programmes or internships to explore your interest in trading,” she urges. “Without the Women in Trading and Engineering Programme, I wouldn’t have applied to IMC’s internship, and I’d have missed out on a rewarding learning experience.”

“IMC's culture is very collaborative, and diversity of thought is essential to the success of that collaboration,” adds Alannah. “Gender diversity is one way we can develop more creative trading strategies. So if you're a female STEM student like me, you have the potential to add significant value and start forging an exciting career at the same time!”

Are you ready to test yourself and gain real trading exposure with IMC Sydney? Check out our internships and programmes today.