The Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai (VINS) is happy to offer NYU Shanghai and Study Away students an opportunity to apply for admission to the VINS Student Research Assistant Program. This program is intended for junior and senior students who are interested in Chinese financial markets, finance, economics, and computer science, and it is open to students from all disciplines.
The Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai aims to create opportunities for cutting-edge research focused on financial markets in China and around the world, facilitate collaboration among market participants and academic researchers within China and abroad, and help shape the world of finance by providing timely financial information and analysis to academics, practitioners, regulators and policy makers through our innovative technology platforms and services, such as the vlab (vlab.stern.nyu.edu) and Vinsight(vinsight.shanghai.nyu.edu).
The NYU Shanghai Volatility Institute operates in close partnership with Volatility and Risk Institute at New York University Stern School of Business, which is under the Co-direction of Nobel Laureate and volatility expert Professor Emeritus of Finance Robert Engle.
This program is a highly competitive program geared toward students interested in Chinese financial markets, economics, business, and computer science. It is open to students from all disciplines. The first pool of applicants featured 30 outstanding students, all of whom went through an academic election process that included interviews. Below is a sample of the program's learning goals that VINS Student Researchers expect to achieve by the end of the program:
- Data processing and analysis
- An understanding of basic topics in Econometrics
- Public speaking and training presentation development
- An in-depth knowledge of Chinese financial market operations and trends
- Empirical research skills
- Financial market theories and their applicability
During the course of the Fall 2025 – Spring 2026 semesters, VINS Student Research Trainees will work on a variety of tasks directly related to the support and development of the VINS mission outlined above. Specific projects may include:
- Climate Finance
- Financial Applications of Machine Learning
- Multi-Factors Analysis on China Financial Market
- Dynamics of Volatility Surface
- Volatility Index of China Stock Markets
- Utilizing Vlab and Vinsight on Empirical Research Studies
Students are divided into three or four groups, each focusing on one of the projects mentioned above. After conducting empirical research, programming, and data analysis, they attend weekly meetings with their supervisors to exchange ideas and receive feedback from other groups. Self-motivation and independent learning are essential for RAs, as software such as Wind, SAS, Python, and MATLAB are not fully covered in regular coursework. Each student is expected to submit a written report summarizing their research project by the end of the Spring 2026 semester and is strongly encouraged to participate in the Undergraduate Research Symposium.
This is a non-credit, unpaid on-campus internship directly supervised by the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai. Interested students should send their resume to vins@nyu.edu by Sept. 15, 2025. We will notify students of their acceptance to the program no later than Sept. 22, 2025.