STARLab

The STARLab is a purpose-built facility that runs a suite of financial market simulation programs. It complements classroom teaching by simulating a financial environment in which textbook concepts are brought to life.

Students are exposed to situations and events that demand thoughtful responses, and where students engineer responses with a variety of financial instruments to hedge risks and seek profits in competition with other traders.

Two STARLabs operate at Monash University's Caulfield campus in Building H and the labs are used by researchers, current undergraduate and postgraduate Monash students, secondary schools and industry.

What makes the STARLab so unique, is Monash's years of understanding of student behaviour in a trading environment. This knowledge and behaviour led to the development of highly focussed learning and teaching material developed and taught in the laboratories, which resulted in an extremely high level of student participation.

The STARLab now has a place in courses covering general market operations, equity markets, financial and portfolio management, currency and bond markets. More recent applications have expanded into deeper risk management strategies using options and other derivatives as well as climate change and emissions trading.