The focus was on strategic management, innovation, and design thinking. The ECI Management discussed key issues related to the innovative strength, diversification, and export orientation of the United Arab Emirates. Design Thinking is an agile method that leads to innovative problem solving and the development of new ideas. Participants go through a generic process, during which numerous concepts are developed and discarded. A second workshop for ECI trainees also covered topics such as trade finance and export credit insurance.

Etihad Credit Insurance is the new state export credit and investment insurance of the United Arab Emirates. It insures internationally active companies against political and economic payment risks. The Institute for Trade and Innovation at the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg conducts research in the areas of innovation promotion, trade policy and export financing.