Key Takeaways
- Daniels’ corporate partnerships provide opportunities like projects, guest speakers, recruiting access and real-world learning.
- Experiential learning partnerships help students build portfolio-worthy work and job-ready skills.
- Corporate partners support scholarships, student activities and faculty research—strengthening the student experience.
- Students should approach partnerships strategically: networking, projects and mentorship.
- This article breaks down how partnerships work and how to leverage them.
At the Daniels College of Business, industry partners are a daily part of the student experience, not just logos on a webpage.
The College serves as a bridge between academia and the business ecosystem, creating mutually beneficial relationships for organizations and students.
Kate Dillon and Lexi Warden serve as key liaisons between Daniels and its industry partners. Last year, more than 600 unique companies engaged with Daniels, with nearly 700 guest speakers and over 20 unique student projects.
“Having industry partners here on campus every day—whether they’re recruiting students, serving as judges, speaking in classes or acting as mentors—is how we bring job opportunities to life for students,” Dillon said.
As the senior director of corporate and community relations, Dillon is responsible for connecting local companies with opportunities within Daniels. When local business leaders come to her with a request, she gets to work, matching them with a class, professor or project.
What “Partnership” Means at Daniels
At Daniels, industry partners span industries and focus areas, frequently including employers, alumni, nonprofits, government organizations, advisory board members and international partners. That partnership falls into two broad buckets:
- Talent and workforce development: Employers work with Daniels to connect with students, recruit interns or employees, build leadership pipelines, upskill current employees and stay close to emerging talent.
- Business problem-solving: Companies are bringing challenges to Daniels and working with students and faculty members to solve them. This could be class projects, cases, consulting-style work, faculty research and more.
These occasions are ones that are happening in every class, across every quarter at Daniels. Working in lockstep with industry partners is central to the Daniels experience and something students come to expect.
“As a business school, we cannot be a dynamic environment without industry partners here every single day,” Dillon said. “Their interaction with us helps positively impact the student experience.”
The Career Benefits Students Actually Feel
Students frequently feel the benefits of partnership in their academic work, getting early exposure to speakers and mentors, recruiting pipelines and applied learning. These opportunities begin early in a student’s academic journey at Daniels, continue throughout their time at the College and often culminate in a client-focused capstone project.
“We want to provide our students with opportunities to be directly engaged and apply what they’re learning, discover new industries and discover roles,” Dillon said.
Students can engage with industry partners in a variety of ways, including:
- Classroom guest speakers who bring industry perspectives directly into courses.
- Real-world projects and cases that allow students to work on business challenges from partner organizations.
- Recruiting events and employer visits that connect students with internships and job opportunities.
- Mentorship and coffee chats that help students build relationships and explore career paths.
- Networking events and meet and greets with alumni, employers and community partners.
- Judging opportunities where partners provide feedback on student presentations, competitions or project work.
- Student organization collaborations that create additional pathways for partner engagement.
- International site visits where global partners support students during travel and experiential learning opportunities.
“Here, networking is every day, all day—every guest speaker, every person in the hall, every project, every board member,” Dillon added.
Real Projects That Build Proof—Not Just Grades
Projects and business cases help students build resume-ready examples and stories they can share in future interviews. Some of the most well-known competitions at Daniels are Race and Case, Commercial Real Estate Development Association (CREDA) and the Business Olympics, among many others.
These competitions bring real-world companies to Daniels and challenge students to provide solutions to issues that are impacting various industries. This winter, Breakthru Beverage sponsored Race and Case, asking students how the company could better reach Gen Z, a demographic with declining drinking habits. It challenged students to rethink Breakthru’s product offerings, branding and long-term growth strategies.
These projects are mutually beneficial, as students gain experience and companies gain access to new ideas and promising talent. Warden said the nonprofit partners often turn into internships for students.
Access to Guest Speakers, Judges and Mentors
As Dillon noted, creating networking opportunities is an expectation at Daniels and not only at formal events. Students are constantly being exposed to situations where they can connect with local business leaders in the fields they are most interested in.
There are classroom guest speakers, student panels, case studies and more.
“As much as our faculty can open their classroom doors, as much as our student groups can create pathways, that is very critical to what we’ve promised,” Dillon said about networking.
Daniels frequently holds meet and greets, allowing local employers to set up tables to chat with interested students. These frequently lead to internships and jobs, with students being given a chance to connect directly with recruiters and hiring managers.
When industry partners come to Dillon and Warden, they work to craft a unique experience that benefits the companies and Daniels students. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all model at Daniels.
“It’s just a matter of being flexible and being open and wanting to be there to support our students in whatever way that looks like,” Warden said.
Recruiting Visibility and Hiring Pipelines
You can walk down the halls at Daniels most days and find a local company recruiting. But when the halls are empty, students are given a variety of other resources to connect with recruiters and find their next job.
Daniels career coaches help students explore career options, prepare for interviews, advance their own professional development and build successful business networks. Weekly newsletters highlight upcoming job and internship opportunities, and Pioneer Careers Online keeps a running log of career advice and postings.
Daniels has built a reputation in the industry for producing students who are ready to make an impact. That reputation has made the College a first stop for companies looking to hire.
“We love it when an organization sees us as a business imperative. When they have a need, they’re like, ‘Let’s get a Daniels student. Let’s see if we can have a Daniels student be an intern,’” Dillon said.
This is particularly the case for the wide array of alumni-owned or run businesses.
“A lot of our alums—who have experienced it themselves—when they need an intern now, they only come to Daniels,” Dillon said.
How to Leverage Partnerships as a Student
Partnerships are only as valuable as students make them. Daniels can bring employers and industry leaders to campus, but it is up to students to take advantage of these opportunities. There are plenty of ways to do so.
1) Pick a Target Industry + Skill Stack
Start by identifying one or two industries you want to explore, along with the skills you want to build. Students don’t need to have a complete career plan, but having a general direction makes it easier to choose which speakers to follow up with, which projects to pursue and which events to prioritize.
What students can do:
- Choose a few industries of interest.
- Identify the skills those industries value.
- Attend events or take classes with those goals in mind.
- Further refine your interests as you go.
2) Join Projects/Competitions Early
Projects, cases and competitions give students a chance to apply classroom learning before they are in a full-time role. They also create concrete examples students can use later in interviews, resumes and portfolios.
What students can do:
- Say yes to class projects with real organizations.
- Join student groups that work with industry partners.
- Participate in case competitions or partner-sponsored challenges.
- Treat each project like a professional engagement, not just an assignment.
3) Turn Partner Touchpoints into Relationships
A guest speaker, judge, mentor or employer visit should not end when the event ends. Students can turn those moments into relationships by following up, asking thoughtful questions and staying connected.
That follow-up is key, Warden said.
“Anytime there’s a guest speaker in their class, students should connect with them on LinkedIn. Have coffee with them. Every single one of those students should be connecting with that guest speaker,” she said.
What students can do:
- Connect with speakers and partners on LinkedIn.
- Send a short thank-you note after a class visit or event.
- Ask for a 15- to 20-minute coffee chat.
- Keep the conversation focused on learning, not immediately asking for a job.
- Follow up later with updates or additional questions.
4) Document Outcomes
Every project, competition or industry interaction can become proof of career readiness. Students should track what they worked on, what skills they used and what impact they helped create.
What students can do:
- Save project summaries, presentations or work samples when appropriate.
- Write resume bullets while the project is still fresh.
- Capture measurable outcomes, such as audience reached, revenue impact, time saved, research completed or recommendations delivered.
- Turn the experience into an interview story.
How Employers Benefit
Daniels wants partnerships to be intentional and mutually beneficial for all parties involved. The College wants to help solve problems, provide a hiring pipeline and an upskilling opportunity for current employees.
“We want partners to truly see us as a value-add to their organizational success,” Dillon said. “We want them to naturally see us as the place to go to solve organizational challenges, whether that’s talent, innovation or something else.”
That two-way value is what turns a Daniels partnership from a campus connection into a long-term relationship that supports students, strengthens organizations and keeps the College closely aligned with the needs of the market.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Corporate Partners Program at Daniels?
The Corporate Partners Program is one part of Daniels’ broader industry partner network, connecting companies with opportunities to engage with students, faculty and the College. These partnerships can include recruiting, guest speaking, student projects, executive education, advisory board involvement and other forms of support.
How do partnerships help students get internships?
Partnerships give students direct access to employers through recruiting events, classroom visits, meet-and-greets, projects, coffee chats and alumni connections. Those touchpoints help students build relationships with hiring managers and industry leaders, and some partner projects can lead directly to internship opportunities.
What is experiential learning and why does it matter?
Experiential learning gives students the chance to apply classroom concepts to real business challenges. At Daniels, that can happen through cases, competitions, consulting-style projects, capstones and partner-sponsored work, helping students build resume-ready examples and interview stories before they graduate.
How can students get chosen for company-sponsored projects?
Students can increase their chances by getting involved early in class projects, case competitions, student organizations and partner events. They should also build relevant skills, show professionalism, follow up with industry contacts and treat every project like a real business engagement.
Do partnerships support scholarships or student programs?
Yes. Some Daniels partners financially support the College’s mission, while others contribute through hiring, mentoring, guest speaking, projects, advisory board service or student programming. Together, those partnerships help create more opportunities for students inside and outside the classroom.