The Department of Industrial Management collaborates with a network of national and international research partners. Close partners in collaboration include other departments of Lappeenranta University of Technology, such as the School of Business and the Department of Information Technology. The Department of Industrial Management works with many research units, e.g. the TBRC (Technology Business Research Centre), specialised in research on the ICT sector, and the Northern Dimension Research Centre (NORDI).
The Department of Industrial Management also has contacts to universities abroad, for example the Japanese Nihon University and Kanazawa Institute of Technology. In 2003, the Nihon University nominated the dean of the faculty, Markku Tuominen, as an honorary professor. The nomination was based on research collaboration between the universities that has continued since the beginning of the 1990s.
Researchers at the Department of Industrial Management collaborate with industrial enterprises, and research projects are usually partly funded by these enterprises. Due to these combined efforts, the research can easily be applied to practice. Also Master’s theses are primarily commissioned by companies, which increases interaction between the department and industries.