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World Quant University Instructor Shares the Joy of Problem-Solving

21 January 2026

Shoppers like ready-made technology, but WorldQuant University instructor Michael Olafusi built his first desktop computer using component parts purchased with scholarship money from ExxonMobil.

He was just 15. Despite his young age, he was already a second-year college student living in a different Nigerian state than his parents. Michael says he has always enjoyed tinkering with technology and seeing how things work.

“Every year, I am always learning something new,” he says. “I love optimization, creating systems, having scenarios that are simulation-based, and trying to find solutions to difficult, tricky things.”

After graduating with an electrical and computer engineering degree in 2009, he launched a global career that has evolved from telecommunications engineering to business intelligence and quantitative investing. Opportunities have taken him from Nigeria, where he was born and raised, to Malta and the United Arab Emirates.

He currently lives in Toronto, where he consults for one of the largest pension funds in Canada. He also teaches financial data and risk management in the Master of Science in Financial Engineering program at WQU. He loves what he does.

“When people ask me what I want to do at retirement, I’m like, ‘I’m going to work until I can no longer work because I am doing what I want to do when I retire already,’” he says.

The result of this mindset is repeat business.

“The thing with problem-solving is when you do it in the industry space, you get a lot of reward,” Michael says. “The reward for a good job is more work. As I solve clients’ problems, they give me more difficult things to do.”

Some people complain about extra work, but Michael appreciates the chance to tackle increasingly complex tasks.

“Me enjoying that means that I get to not just work on problems that are difficult and low value, but I also get to be moved up to work on problems that are very difficult and also very high value.”

Michael describes a virtuous cycle. As he works on increasingly difficult problems, he gains increased access to senior leaders, who give him increasingly useful guidance.

“I get a lot of very positive feedback that continually reinforces this cycle for me,” he says.

Michael credits WorldQuant University for much of his success. Two years before starting as an instructor in 2023, he completed the MScFE program as a student.

“Doing the Master of Science in Financial Engineering program changed my entire career and even how I invest and every aspect of my professional world right now,” he says.

Being a WQU alumnus also gives Michael empathy for his students, who often juggle full-time jobs and family obligations while studying.

“I can relate to their challenges,” he says. “I am able to help them when we have live sessions.”

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