Building collaborative engagement
The Office of Business Partnerships at Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business creates and provides solutions to the business challenges of today and the future.
Dedicated Daniels School professionals streamline opportunities for industry partners and alumni to connect with students and faculty beyond the traditional classroom setting. The partnerships office helps companies solve business challenges through consulting-focused experiential learning projects across all business functions via course-based engagements or contracts with our centers.
Applying the power of data to serve industry needs is in the Office of Business Partnerships’ DNA. Moving beyond theory into real problem-solving is a call to action our office takes seriously. We understand organizations large and small face uncertainty, rapid technological changes and the continuous need to train employees and cultivate new talent.
Let’s get started, together.
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There are so many ways we can work together to create and nurture a rewarding partnership that benefits your organization. Explore the opportunities that make up the core of a strategic partnership with Purdue and the Daniels School.
Enhance your organization's leadership capacity by investing in their development through a residential, online or hybrid degree program, certificate courses or a custom offering.
Collaborate with our centers of excellence and expert faculty researchers to gain access to top thought leadership.
Develop future team members while filling your most challenging positions. Your next hire could be that talented intern, a stellar full-time candidate or a transformational executive you meet through a tailored recruitment strategy designed for your company.
Join forces with our expert faculty and top students to create a consulting project that will define and test solutions for your pain points.
Drive industry and academic innovation through board membership, mentoring, guest lectures and curricular guidance.

In 2024, the company launched a workforce plan to prepare for the future needs of its organization. One area identified for further exploration is understanding the characteristics of high-performing team members in a key customer-facing role. The company is seeking support from Purdue University IBE students to conduct a study that will inform future hiring and development efforts for this role, ultimately helping attract and retain top talent.
The Partner’s procurement savings tracking methodology lacked clarity and consistency. The savings data was in silos, and the current process lacked end-to-end traceability, making it difficult to validate savings and meet audit requirements.
Small- to mid-sized manufacturing companies often face challenges when selecting and investing in technology platforms that address their unique operational needs. Many companies have been oversold on large ERP systems that fail to resolve key business pain points or deliver meaningful ROI. This project explored how manufacturing leaders can better evaluate and select custom technology platforms that align with core business processes, improve decision-making and create measurable business value.
Academic and industry partnerships bring together the best of industry-specific and cutting-edge business knowledge to craft new and innovative ideas.
Mike Pettit
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Wabash