(NewsUSA) -It's a unique educational opportunity when students get to experience the enthusiasm, energy and decision-making behind real-time trading. That's why CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives exchange, hosts an annual electronic trading competition for students all around the world to partake in.

During this year's event, students learned hands-on techniques for trading agriculture, energy, metals, equity indices, interest rates and foreign exchange futures contracts using CQG's real-time simulated electronic trading platform. Throughout the challenge, students also received live market updates through Dow Jones newsfeeds and The Hightower Report.

"It's an exciting time to learn about how derivatives markets are used to manage risk and capture opportunities across the global economy," says Anita Liskey, CME Group Senior Managing Director of Global Brand Marketing and Communications. "Our annual competition provides a collaborative educational experience that is driven by global financial professionals and innovative technology. Each year, we are delighted to bring together students from all over the world to learn how to apply real-life trading strategies to everyday markets."

This year's four-week competition included 386 teams, comprised of more than 1,500 actively enrolled graduate and undergraduate students from 24 countries. Students on the top five winning teams are eligible to receive a cash prize and are invited to attend an exclusive one-day, virtual market education event this month.

The first-place winner was the University of Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano, which is the second consecutive Latin American team to top the global competition.

The 18th Annual CME Group University Trading Challenge Winners are:

First Place: University of Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano (Colombia);
Second Place: Loyola University Chicago (U.S.);
Third Place: Virginia Tech (U.S.);
Fourth Place: University of Illinois (U.S.);
Fifth Place: Southern Illinois University (U.S.).

"The CME Group University Trading Challenge is an excellent way to learn about derivatives markets and develop skills that can be put into practice in the future," said the first-place team from the University of Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano. "Trading through the CQG platform and having access to live market updates also helps students build an understanding of how these markets operate."

CME Group provides a wide range of risk management education, including its CME Institute education hub, which offers detailed courses, webinars and videos on trading futures on options markets, as well as a trading simulator.

CME Group also partners with other industry organizations to offer educational tools, such as Futures Fundamentals, a one-stop educational resource to help learners of all levels understand futures markets and the role they play in everyday life.