Trading and risk management, and market information application provider Aspect Enterprise Solutions (Aspect) is helping create the next generation of energy traders through a unique collaboration with Cass Business School, London.

Aspect, which supplies nine out of 10 of the world's largest oil companies, has given its AspectETRM and AspectDSC applications free of charge to Cass Business School where they are used to coach students taking the MSc in Energy, Trade and Finance. It is believed to be the only course of its kind in the world where energy traders can learn their craft prior to employment.

The trading element of the course is the brainchild of energy specialist Charles Daly of Channoil Consulting who also introduced the Aspect applications.

"The objective was simple: create students who could go on directly to join a trading company armed with the practical knowledge they'd need to become traders. The Aspect applications represent the current state of the art in that business and give the students invaluable, hands-on experience."

Students gain this experience during a three-week trading simulation during which they learn the gas, oil and electricity markets and how they work. AspectETRM is a powerful trade risk management solution which students use for trade capture, position keeping and exposure tracking. At the same time AspectDSC provides students with real-time market prices and data together with decision support tools.

"Students get a real insight into the business, learn new skills and have fun while they're doing it," says Daly. "The Aspect tools are intuitive, easy to use and highly interactive. Also it's very probable that when students go on to get jobs as traders they'll be using Aspect for real with their employers."

The Aspect solutions in use at Cass Business School are identical to those used at more than 500 major banks, energy companies and trading houses around the world. Delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications they are fast to implement, simple to support and cost less to own than older technology alternatives.

AspectETRM is a fully-featured enterprise trade risk management solution for the front, middle and back office. Customisable screens allow tailoring to individual traders' needs, while workflows and security parameters fit corporate business processes exactly. AspectDSC provides real-time and historical market news and pricing from leading commodity exchanges, supported by a suite of powerful decision support tools. It is available on demand anywhere in the world with Internet access and works with desktop, mobile and PDA devices.