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.
TOP 8
Public University in the U.S.
QS World University, 2025
TOP 10
Most Innovative Schools in the U.S.
7 Years Running
U.S. News & World Report, 2025
BRANDS THAT MATTER
For the 4th year in a row, Purdue is the only university on Fast Company’s Brands That Matter list.
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.
A DTC e-commerce candle retailer features a 2 oz. candle size as part of its sample pack and as a standalone “add-on” option on its website. These products allow customers to try a smaller candle before committing to larger candles. These products have also been effective for increasing average order value (AOV) and encouraging customers to explore new fragrances. However, customer feedback consistently highlights that the 2 oz. candle has a weak fragrance throw, which is likely due to its small diameter. The company has also explored larger sizes, such as the discontinued 8 oz. and 4 oz. sizes, which faced challenges in marketing and sales performance. The team is considering replacing the 2 oz. with a larger size that offers a more accurate scent experience while maintaining its value as an add-on and AOV driver.
This project is to address the challenges of how to have a descriptive, system-wide understanding of visitor trends and characteristics and a deeper understanding of potential web barriers that visitors might encounter when specifically visiting a rural development website. As those visitors who visit the rural development website often seek critical programs and funding information, it is important for the company to understand what barriers they face when visiting. Understanding these problems will be critical to further improve digital services and AI-enabled support tools.
This innovation hackathon challenged first-year IBE and Industrial Design students to improve accessibility in public spaces. In partnership with a corporate sponsor, student teams applied design thinking to develop concepts for smarter, safer public doors and entrance systems. The goal was to create inclusive solutions that allow individuals with disabilities to access public spaces independently and with dignity, reducing feelings of vulnerability.
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
Read the full story about our collaborative partnership with Wabash.
When we explore different avenues through what the students help us understand, that opens up new ways of solving the problems that we face.
Dave Teeter
Vice President of Talent and Organizational Effectiveness, Wabash
What's really impressed me is [the students are] clearly getting a lot of training very early on. They’re well prepared for what's going to be required of them as they move from the academic world into the business world.
Michael Day
Executive Director, Engine Business Segment, Off-Highway Finance, Cummins
