At the 9th Annual Meeting of the Aman Union in Cairo in December, B+W Dean and Professor Philipp Eudelle signed an agreement with the Secretary General of the Aman Union, Adnan Yildirim. The Aman Union, based in Maskat, is an association of public and private export credit and investment insurers from Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Thus te "Aman Union Academy," a distance learning program developed by Hochschule Offenburg, can now begin in the spring of 2019.

"I am very pleased that Offenburg has won the international tender against numerous renowned universities from around the world," said Eudelle after the signing in Egypt. "Thanks to our unique expertise in trade policy and export finance issues, particularly at the Institute for Trade and Innovation (IfTI), we can now integrate research and teaching even more effectively."

Professor Andreas Klasen, Director of the Institute for Trade and Innovation, was enthusiastic in Cairo about another milestone in the internationalization strategy of the B+W Department. "With the Aman Union Academy we are once again demonstrating that we live internationality at Hochschule Offenburg." The two continuing-education programs, developed in a leading role by Professor Klasen, enable participants to improve their skills in export finance, insurance markets and credit assessment. Other modules focus on strategic management, innovation and design thinking. In addition to the University's professors, guest lecturers at the Aman Union Academy will include Dr. Simone Krummaker of the Cass Business School, City University of London, and Dr. Chris Jeffs of the IMD in Lausanne, among others.

Background: The Aman Union, based in Maskat, is the regional union of public and private export credit and investment insurances from Africa, the Near and Middle East as well as Asia. It is particularly committed to the exchange of information and experience between the more than 40 member organizations. These include the state-owned EXIM Bank of Malaysia, the reinsurer Munich Re and the MIGA (World Bank Group). The IfTI at Hochschule Offenburg conducts research in the fields of innovation promotion, trade policy and export finance and, in addition to offering further-training programs, conducts research projects for private and public third-party sponsors.