[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/siam.jpg” caption=”John Siam, assistant professor at DeGroote and director of the Gould Trading Floor, knows the value such a resource provides to students. “]The Gould Trading Floor (GTF) at the DeGroote School of Business is a state-of-the-art facility that provides students with the tools and training they need to become the financial services industry professionals of tomorrow.

Opened in 1999, the GTF was the first university trading centre in Ontario and the second in Canada. Since its inception, the GTF has become a unique market-learning environment that offers students well-rounded training and hands-on experience in the financial field.

“When I was asked to build a trading room, I envisioned more of a learning institute,” says John Siam, an assistant professor at DeGroote and director of the GTF. “As a former trader, I understand the value such a resource provides in linking students' university education with industry practice.”

At the GTF, DeGroote students have the unique opportunity to gain valuable business skills through real and simulated trading. Students can participate in a number of trading seminars and workshops that are designed to expose them to financial markets, and acquaint them with industry tools, such as data feeds like Thomson Reuters.

Students are also given unprecedented access to industry professionals through the Trader-in-Residence Program. The program, unique to the School, allows professionals from various sectors of the financial industry to act as advisors to students through the discussion of current business subjects. In addition, students can also connect with industry professionals through the “Day @ Bay Street” visits, which allow them to observe professional traders at work in brokerage houses in Toronto.

“The GTF provides students with an industry perspective on the global economy and financial markets that you can't find in the newspapers,” explains Andrew Vrana, a third year student and coordinator at the GTF. “We're given access to the same tools used by the people who shape the global markets, and this experience puts us at the forefront of the industry.”

After ten years, the GTF remains an experiential learning environment that offers innovative approaches to learning. “The GTF represents an astounding opportunity for students desiring a career in the financial services industry,” says Siam. “It is in this space that academic theory comes to life.”

The GTF was made possible thanks to a gift from the Allen and Milli Gould Family Foundation. It is named for the late Allen H. Gould, a Hamilton business leader and entrepreneur who had an interest in the markets.