emirates7 - Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) has announced the signing of an agreement with University Luiss Guido Carli, a leading Italian University, to facilitate knowledge and expertise sharing in the field of credit risk management and trade finance between the two entities.

Under the partnership, ECI will provide its expertise and acumen in the field of geopolitics, trade credit insurance, and financial risk, as part of its effort to help Luiss Guido Carli enhance its internationalisation and innovation programmes and provide its graduates a springboard to the real world of international trade and investment in the fast-growing Middle East.

With the goal of forging an intersection of knowledge and experience as well as developing a new generation of business leaders, the Company will also provide internship opportunities for degree students.

In turn, the University will assist the UAE export credit agency in developing a top-notch training and exchange programmes to improve the management skills of young Emirati, as well as in attracting quality talents from Luiss Guido Carli, which has recently entered the top 100 in the prestigious QS World University Rankings 2022 in the field of Social Sciences and Management.

Commenting on this collaboration, Massimo Falcioni, CEO of ECI, said, "In line with the UAE’s remarkable step towards a knowledge‐based economy and strategy to attract top talents, we are committed to help equip the young generation across the world with the requisite knowledge, skills, and new approaches in terms of credit risk management and trade finance. This agreement with Luiss Guido Carli will give ECI a great platform to share our bespoke expertise with some of the brilliant young minds in one of the best business schools not only in Europe but also in the world."

Prof Andrea Prencipe, Rector of Luiss Guido Carli, said: "We’re always on the lookout for effective collaborations with world-leading business entities to provide our students advanced skills and expertise to excel in the highly competitive marketplace. We are therefore happy to sign an agreement with Etihad Credit Insurance, to further strengthen our outreach."

The agreement emerges from ECI's vision to establish an Academy in order to improve the core competencies of entrepreneurs and the knowledge of professionals engaging in export business. It provides them with the necessary training by partnering with locally and globally acclaimed education and training providers.

This initiative strongly believes in honing young minds and starting them early. It is for the same reason why ECI has partnered with local universities to reach out to potential students who can be part of ECI’s growing team.

The first phase of the ECI Academy began four years ago in collaboration with UAE Local government education bodies such as Zayed University, Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Sharjah University and Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG). It provided postgraduate students with the opportunity to learn the purpose of ECI and its solutions to the SME sector during their internship program with ECI.

The second phase of this initiative was launched this year by extending its reach to the international level. With world-leading universities and business schools as education and training providers, ECI Academy comes up with programs that will cater to the varying needs of the business community, especially SMEs, as they constitute the major contributors to the global economy.

The Academy will also give MBA students in global universities significant exposure to the UAE market through internship programs at ECI. At the same time, ECI employees will attend the universities to undergo business training or work on projects with the export credit agencies of the countries from whose universities they will receive the training.