The European Commission has granted 208,317 euros ($252,314) to a group of risk management organizations and universities to offer training to European companies.

The four national risk management associations of the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany; the Federation of European Risk Management Assns. in Brussels; and the Institute of Risk Management in London will collaborate on what they have informally named the “Leonardo Project,” the U.K.’s Assn. of Insurance & Risk Managers revealed at its annual conference in Manchester, England.

The Bordeaux Business School and the University of Verona will also be involved in the project; they will develop training modules for companies interested in learning risk management techniques.

Training programs delivered through the Internet and face-to-face sessions in local languages will target small and midsize companies in particular and are expected to begin within 18 months, AIRMIC said. Eventually, the programs could be rolled out more widely, the association said.

“We hope this initiative will lead to an increase in the number of risk managers across Europe and more associations in European countries being associated with FERMA,” said Andrew Cornish, deputy chairman of AIRMIC.