La Trobe Industry Research Scholarship (LTIRS) - Autonomous AI Agents for Adaptive Quantitative Trading in Dynamic Financial Mark
Background
Scholarship code: IND-25122
Expressions of interest - open until filled.
This is an industry-linked PhD scholarship. This scholarship is created by La Trobe University in collaboration with a new cutting-edge quantitative-trading company to push the frontiers of AI-aided decision-making in quantitative trading processes.
As a PhD candidate you will:
- Design next-generation trading agents. Your research will explore how reinforcement learning, multi-agent cooperation and generative worldmodels can deliver adaptive strategies that thrive amid volatile, multi-asset markets, micro-structure noise and rapid regime shifts.
- Integrate real-time data streams. You will experiment with heterogeneous inputs like tick-level prices, news sentiment, order-book depth, macro indicators and investigate online feature engineering, continual learning and uncertainty quantification.
- Balance performance with governance. Projects will evaluate risk-adjusted returns alongside interpretability, compliance and ESG constraints, developing agents that self-audit and adapt to regulatory change.
- Translate theory to production and publication. Working closely with our industry partner, you will prototype, back-test and live-shadow strategies on institutional-grade infrastructure. You will also gain opportunity for concluding new research insights into high-quality papers that may make big impact to the world.
Ideal applicants will have a solid background in AI, machine learning, control theory or quantitative finance. Applicants with advanced programming skills (Python/C++); and a desire to publish in top AI/FinTech venues while delivering tangible impact to the trading floor will be preferred.
The applicant will be required to engage with both the industry partner located in Melbourne and the academic supervisors based in Bendigo, maintaining regular communication and progress updates across both settings.
Benefits of the scholarship
- a La Trobe Research Scholarship for three and a half years, with a value of $35,000 per annum, to support your living costs (2025 rate)
- a fee-relief scholarship for up to four years
- relocation allowance and thesis allowance
- opportunities to work with La Trobe's outstanding researchers, and have access to our suite of professional development programs
- Collaborate closely with industry partner, gaininghands-on experience in developing AI solutions for live trading environments.
- Access proprietary market data and institutional infrastructure, including cutting-edge computing environments and live market simulation tools. Translate research into production, contributing to innovative technologies that shape the future of autonomous finance.
- Build a powerful professional network, with cosupervision from both academic leaders and senior industry practitioners.
Are you eligible to apply?
To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, applicants must:
- meet the entry requirements of the Doctor of Philosophy
- note be receiving another scholarship greater than 75 per cent of the stipend rate for the same purpose
In selecting successful applications, we prioritise applications from candidates who:
- have a strong background in Artificial Intelligence
- will be enrolled full-time and undertaking their research at a La Trobe University campus
- have completed a Masters by research or other significant body of research, such as an honours research thesis or a lead authorship of a peer-reviewed publication, assessed at a La Trobe Masters by research standard of 75 or above
This is a cross-disciplinary research project that spans artificial intelligence, quantitative finance, and applied mathematics. While applicants are not expected to meet all criteria, those who demonstrate more of the following attributes will be highly regarded:
- Strong foundation in AI models: A deep understanding of contemporary AI architectures such as Transformers, large language models (LLMs), vision-language models, recurrent neural networks (RNNs), and related techniques.
- Mathematical maturity: A solid grasp of key mathematical concepts such as optimization, linear algebra, probability, and statistics, relevant to AI and quantitative modelling.
- Technical proficiency in programming66: Demonstrated programming skills with experience in one or more of the following areas: machine learning, reinforcement learning, algorithmic trading, or data-driven modelling.
- Excellent communication skills: Solid written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present complex ideas to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Collaborative mindset: Willingness to maintain regular communication and project updates with supervisors from both the industry partner and academic team.
How to apply
The applicant needs to go through a 3-step selection process:
- Contact Dr Zhe Chen (zhe.chen@latrobe.edu.au) to express your interest, highlighting the title of this scholarship.
- Shortlisted applicants will be required to attend an interview with the industry partner.
- The top applicant will be directed to submit a full application to La Trobe University for candidature and scholarship, to be assessed for entry into the PhD and to ensure they meet the minimum academic requirements to hold a scholarship. An offer is not confirmed until La Trobe University has assessed your full application and issued an official offer of entry into the PhD with scholarship.
Who to contact for further information
Dr Zhen He, zhe.chen@latrobe.edu.au