Interim Dean of the College of Business Som Bhattacharya snipped a bright red ribbon on Tuesday.

Behind him was the newly redesigned Trading Room in the College of Business, with improved technology to help business students at FAU train and enter the job market.

A crowd of more than 50 business professionals, students, and faculty gathered together in the Sean Stein Pavilion at the College of Business for a cocktail reception and grand reopening to reveal the Trading Room. The classroom replicates real-world investing and trading so students can learn by experience, established in 2006.

With a fresh, new design, the Trading Room and the launching of a partnership with Bloomberg, a multinational financial software corporation, will give FAU business students an advantage over all other students across the nation.

According to Director of the Trading Room Dr. Reinford Knight, the new and improved Trading Room will expand on the Financial Analyst Program along with the launching of a partnership with Bloomberg, the only partnership of its kind in the nation.

“The Financial Analyst Program is designed as a fundamental research program,” Knight said. “It is intended to prepare our students for real world jobs in trading and finance.”

The partnership with Bloomberg will allow FAU students to use and train on the same financial software for data analysis used by corporations all over the world.

The Trading Room has now expanded from a 25 to a 40 seat classroom with brand new technology. The room now includes a state-of-the-art ticker board to display up-to-date financial data during classes, along with LCD screens around the room to run cable news during class, keeping students constantly informed about the market economy.

“It gives our students something that puts them ahead of everyone else in the job market,” Knight said.

Now that the Trading Room is redesigned and fully functional, Knight plans to hold valuable classes and seminars in the room as well.

“We’re planning on having investment professionals hold classes and seminars about trading and investment,” Knight said. “The combination of the Trading Room, the Financial Analyst Program, and the Bloomberg partnership will train our students and help them better compete with other universities in the finance job market.”