COMPETITIONS — Master Index
Folder Structure
COMPETITIONS/
├── START_HERE.md <- You are here
│
├── 00_ROADMAP/
│ ├── MASTER_ROADMAP.md <- Phase-by-phase career plan (2 years)
│ └── WHERE_TO_FIND_COMPETITIONS.md <- All platforms, goal-based table, how to stay updated
│
├── 01_ML_COMPETITIONS/ <- Data science / ML competition platforms
│ ├── PLATFORM_GUIDE.md <- Guide to every platform incl. Numerai, ARC Prize, Topcoder
│ ├── KAGGLE_PRACTICAL_TIPS.md <- GPU quota, submission mechanics, notebook tricks, LB reading
│ ├── Kaggle/
│ ├── DrivenData/
│ ├── Zindi/
│ ├── Codabench/
│ ├── MachineHack/
│ ├── Signate/
│ ├── Solafune/
│ ├── AIcrowd/
│ ├── Numerai/ <- NUMERAI_GUIDE.md (weekly hedge fund ML, earn NMR crypto, era CV, MMC)
│ ├── Topcoder/
│ └── ARC_Prize/ <- ARC_PRIZE_GUIDE.md ($2M prize, DSL approach, TTT, LLM reasoning)
│
├── 02_HACKATHONS/ <- Hackathon platforms
│ ├── PLATFORM_GUIDE.md <- General + Web3/AI-Native sections
│ ├── Devpost/
│ ├── DoraHacks/ <- DORAHACKS_GUIDE.md ($92M+ given out, Web3+AI, BUIDL grants)
│ ├── MLH/
│ ├── Lablab_ai/
│ ├── ETHGlobal/
│ ├── ETHDenver/
│ ├── Gitcoin/
│ ├── TAIKAI/
│ ├── Devfolio/
│ ├── HackerEarth/
│ └── Unstop/
│
├── 03_ACTIVE/ <- Your CURRENT competitions (one folder per comp)
│ └── templates/ACTIVE_COMPETITION_TRACKER.md
│
├── 04_COMPLETED/ <- Past entries + lessons learned
│ └── template_entry/COMPETITION_LOG.md <- Copy for each finished competition
│
├── 05_TEMPLATES/ <- Reusable starter code
│ ├── ML_pipeline/starter_pipeline.py <- LightGBM + StratifiedKFold CV pipeline
│ ├── EDA_starter/
│ ├── DL_vision/
│ ├── DL_NLP/
│ └── Hackathon_starter/
│
├── 06_RESOURCES/
│ ├── Winning_Strategies/
│ │ ├── ML_COMPETITION_WINNING_GUIDE.md <- 9-step playbook + TabPFN v2, TTT, hill climbing ensemble, tools table
│ │ ├── HACKATHON_WINNING_GUIDE.md <- Time splits, pitch, judge criteria + AI dev stack (Cursor/v0/Bolt)
│ │ ├── FEATURE_ENGINEERING_GUIDE.md <- Groupby aggregations, target encoding, time series, interactions — with code
│ │ ├── DEEP_LEARNING_COMPETITION_GUIDE.md <- Vision backbones 2025, augmentation, NLP fine-tuning, AWP, LoRA
│ │ ├── STAYING_AHEAD_META_GUIDE.md <- Paper tracking, solution readup framework, reusable codebase template
│ │ ├── FINANCIAL_ML_GUIDE.md <- Transformers (iTransformer/PatchTST), NLP in finance, Purged CV with code
│ │ └── KAGGLE_FINANCE_COMPETITIONS.md <- Jane Street, Optiver, Two Sigma — exact winning approaches + code
│ ├── Research_Publishing/
│ │ ├── JOURNALS_GUIDE.md <- Africa-friendly journals, waivers, DL Indaba, Masakhane, paper basics
│ │ └── TOP_TIER_PRESTIGE_JOURNALS.md <- Full tier system S→4, Nature/NeurIPS tips, cover letter formula, rebuttal guide
│ ├── Papers/
│ └── Notebooks/
│
├── 07_PORTFOLIO/ <- Best finished work to show employers
│
├── 08_DEV_EVENTS/ <- Conferences, summits, workshops
│ ├── EVENTS_OVERVIEW.md <- Why events matter + how to extract value
│ ├── Local_Events/
│ │ └── HOW_TO_FIND_LOCAL_EVENTS.md <- Luma, Meetup, Eventbrite, GDG, AI Tinkerers
│ ├── Online_Free/
│ │ └── FREE_ONLINE_EVENTS_2026.md <- NVIDIA GTC, Google Next, Databricks, etc.
│ ├── In_Person/
│ │ └── IN_PERSON_EVENTS_2026.md <- NeurIPS, ETHDenver, ICML, AWS re:Invent
│ └── AI_ML_Conferences/
│ └── ACADEMIC_CONFERENCES_GUIDE.md <- NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR + how to engage
│
├── 09_QUANT_COMPETITIONS/ <- Quant finance competitions (elite tier)
├── QUANT_OVERVIEW.md <- Difficulty ladder, quick start path
├── QUANT_RESEARCH_UPDATE_2025_2026.md <- Deep research: P3 strategies, IQC, Jane Street ETC, Citadel, ML vs math
├── WorldQuant_IQC/
│ ├── IQC_GUIDE.md <- $100K prize, 3 stages, Mar–Sep 2026, fitness formula
│ └── BRAIN_ALPHA_GUIDE.md <- All operators, 7 alpha patterns with real Sharpe, portfolio strategy
├── IMC_Prosperity/
│ └── IMC_GUIDE.md <- $50K, Python trading bots, Apr 2026, all 5 rounds with code
├── Citadel_Datathon/
│ └── CITADEL_GUIDE.md <- $25K+, direct recruiting pipeline, confirmed winning formula
├── Jane_Street/
│ └── JANE_STREET_GUIDE.md <- Monthly puzzles, FTTP, AMP + ETC specific strategies
└── Other_Quant/
└── OTHER_QUANT_COMPETITIONS.md <- COMAP MCM, Optiver, Two Sigma, Erdős
│
├── 10_NETWORKING/ <- Build the network that builds your career
│ ├── NETWORKING_OVERVIEW.md <- The 4 networking layers explained
│ ├── Build_In_Public/
│ │ └── BUILD_IN_PUBLIC_GUIDE.md <- Indie Hackers, HN, PH, Dev.to, Reddit, WIP + content calendar
│ ├── TikTok_Marketing/
│ │ └── TIKTOK_GUIDE.md <- Algorithm, hooks, content ideas, hashtags, posting schedule, growth tricks
│ ├── LinkedIn_GitHub/
│ │ └── LINKEDIN_GITHUB_GUIDE.md <- Profile strategy, content plan, GitHub structure
│ ├── Online_Communities/
│ │ └── DISCORD_SLACK_REDDIT.md <- Discord servers, Slack, Reddit, Twitter/X
│ └── In_Person_Networking/
│ └── IN_PERSON_NETWORKING_TIPS.md <- How to work a room, follow up, build local rep
│
└── 11_BUSINESS_STRATEGY/ <- Turn competition results into course income
├── AUTHORITY_TO_INCOME_GUIDE.md <- Course platforms, funnel, pricing, 90-day launch plan
├── TRADING_COMPETITIONS_GUIDE.md <- All forex/crypto competitions: WCTC, Bybit WSOT, XM, Zero Markets, Bitget
├── FOREX_TRADING_AUTHORITY_GUIDE.md <- Myfxbook setup, TradingView publishing, African educators to model, events
├── PROP_FIRMS_GUIDE.md <- FTMO/The5ers/FundedNext/20 firms — challenge strategy, Africa payout methods
├── PROP_FIRM_COMPETITIONS_GUIDE.md <- 9 FREE monthly/weekly competitions: FundedNext $5K cash, The5ers $60K weekly
└── MULTI_FIRM_DOMINANCE_GUIDE.md <- Pass 5–10 firms simultaneously, content calendar per milestone, Africa guide
Quick Start Checklist
This Week — Accounts to Create
This Week — Read These Files
URGENT — Active Right Now (April 2026)
| Competition | Deadline | Platform | Prize |
|---|
| WorldQuant IQC 2026 | May 18 (Stage 1) | worldquantbrain.com | $100K |
| IMC Prosperity 4 | Starts Apr 14 | prosperity.imc.com | $50K |
| HashKey Hackathon | Apr 15 | dorahacks.io | $40K |
| Vertex Swarm Challenge | Apr 6 | dorahacks.io | $27K |
| ARC Prize 2026 | Nov 2 | kaggle.com | $2M |
Weekly Routine
| Day | Task |
|---|
| Monday | Check mlcontests.com + devpost.com + dorahacks.io + luma.com (your city) |
| Tue–Thu | Active competition work |
| Friday | Read 1 top solution writeup. Answer 1 question on Kaggle/Discord. |
| Saturday | Solve Jane Street monthly puzzle (released 1st of each month) |
| Sunday | Review submission scores. Post 1 LinkedIn/Twitter update about your work. |
| Monthly | Attend 1 local event: AI Tinkerers / GDG / Meetup group |