CFA® Research Challenge volunteers
We rely on our CFA Charterholders and other financial professionals to serve as event organizers, faculty advisors, industry mentors, graders, and judges at the local, regional, and global competitions of the CFA Institute Research Challenge.
How to get involved
The following are some of the ways you can volunteer with the CFA Institute Research Challenge:
- Organize a local challenge: Set up and administer a local CFA Institute Research Challenge competition, liaising with participating universities, local publicly funded companies, and corporate sponsors
- Be a faculty advisor: Provide a link between the local challenge hosts and their university; they assemble the team for their university and guide students through all levels of the competition
- Be an industry mentor: Assist assigned student teams throughout the competition (maximum 6 hours)
- Grade student research reports: Report graders review, critique, and score the student teams' research reports
- Judge student presentations: Listen to, critique, and score the student teams' presentations. Each presentation is 10 minutes in length followed by 10 minutes of questions and answers.
Volunteer benefits
As a CFA Institute Research Challenge volunteer, you help support the CFA Institute mission to promote the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society.
An additional benefit of becoming a volunteer is the opportunity to earn Professional Learning (PL) credits. The credits are processed at the end of each season in May and are distributed as follows:
- Industry Mentors: 1 PL credit/1 SER credit
- Graders: 4 PL credits
- Judges: 4 PL credits
If you would like to learn more about available volunteer opportunities with the CFA Institute Research Challenge, please contact your member society or the CFA Institute Research Challenge team.
Volunteer resources
- Read the Official Rules & Eligibility (PDF) to help familiarize yourself with the competition
- Review the Participation Agreement (PDF)
- Commit to the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
- Join our online communities to network with current and past participants.
- Display your volunteer experience on LinkedIn (PDF)
*Registration for the CFA Institute Research Challenge is free. Registered graders, judges, and industry mentors will be awarded Professional Learning (PL credit).