When people think about electronic trading, they often focus on algorithms, market analysis, or investment strategies. However, modern trading systems depend on something less visible but equally important: the infrastructure that allows information to move quickly and accurately between different locations.
Across European financial markets, orders are generated, routed, matched, and reported through a network of trading venues, data centres, brokers, and market participants. Although these processes appear entirely digital, they still rely on physical infrastructure, including fibre networks, switches, routers, and time synchronisation systems.
This infrastructure plays a critical role because every stage introduces latency. Even small delays can influence when information arrives, how quickly systems respond, and how market events are recorded and reconstructed.
Another important factor is synchronisation. Modern financial markets operate across multiple cities and countries, requiring systems to maintain accurate and consistent timing. Regulations such as MiFID II and RTS 25 place strict requirements on timestamping and clock synchronisation, particularly in high-frequency trading environments.
These examples highlight a broader lesson: many digital systems depend not only on software and algorithms, but also on the networks and infrastructure that support them.
This systems-level perspective is reflected in ACHIEVE. The Double Degree Master’s programme in “Cloud and Networking Infrastructure and HPC”, part of the EIT Digital Master School, brings together cloud computing, networking, and high-performance computing to help students understand how large-scale digital infrastructures operate in practice.
Students study in two different European countries and develop expertise in areas such as data centre design, network infrastructure, parallel and distributed programming, and large-scale computing systems. By combining technical knowledge with practical applications, the programme prepares learners to work with the complex infrastructures that support today’s digital world.
Within this collaboration, Evolutionary Archetypes Consulting SL contributes to strengthening employability-focused learning pathways, while 28DIGITAL supports the programme within the broader European digital skills landscape.
Learn more about ACHIEVE: https://28digital.eu/eu-collaborations/achieve
101190015 — ACHIEVE — DIGITAL-2023-SKILLS-05
Disclaimer: Co-Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or HADEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
