"This is a fantastic opportunity for me to continue my education at a company like Cinnober," says Robin Norberg, who managed to secure one of the highly desired trainee places. "I found out about the program through Umeå University and am really looking forward to the coming year."

After grueling exams, three candidates passed through the eye of the needle and have been accepted to this pioneer program. All of them have completed degree programs related to Cinnober's interests and have strong ambitions of pursuing careers in financial IT.

The three trainees are: Oskar Janson, 25, Umeå, with a Masters in engineering physics; Robin Norberg, 27, Umeå, with a Masters in computer science and engineering; and Maryam Pourangnia, 26, Tehran, with a BA in computer science and a Masters in information systems management.

"We aim to make this trainee program the best in our industry, so it feels very inspiring to kick off with such a highly skilled group," says Veronica Augustsson, CEO of Cinnober. "I am heavily committed personally to education, since I arrived here as a young and freshly minted computer engineer ten years ago. What I got was a chance to work with what turned me on, and I want to make sure that we provide that opportunity to other talented young men and women.

The new trainee program is called cinCube, based on the expression "see-in-cube" and the fact that the program is a Cinnober incubator. The program, which will be carried out in Cinnober's office in Umeå, gives a unique insight into the global financial IT industry and the possibility to equip oneself for a specialist role, via a thorough education and concrete working assignments.

"We were very impressed by the consistently high quality of the applicants," says Christina Jacobsson, HR Director at Cinnober. "Now that we have sifted our way to top talents, we are as excited as the trainees are about the program. Since we are managing two entry programs a year, we will open the next application period in October, with a start in January."

The trainee program is part of an aggressive investment that Cinnober launched in the Västerbotten region. This year the company has taken the initiative in creating a financial IT cluster in the region and discussions are underway with the business community, local government and the university. For example, a roundtable discussion on building clusters will be held in Umeå on September 5, at Cinnober's initiative.

Cinnober is a world-leading supplier of financial technology to marketplaces and clearing houses. Clients include large global actors with extreme demands on reliability and performance, such as the huge Brazilian BM&FBOVESPA exchange, Deutsche Börse, Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange, London Metal Exchange, LME Clear, MarkitSERV and Stock Exchange of Thailand.