At the Instituto Politécnico Nacional, cooperation and internationalization are part of the integral strategy of relations with the environment. They are both driven by the academic and student exchange, network creation, involvement in a number of events, as well as joint teaching, research and outreach projects that are then formalized by agreements.
In 2008, the Institute executed 550 agreements with federal, state, and municipal government agencies, domestic and international teaching institutions as well as social and private sector agencies. Such agreements provide the ground for mobility of more than 1,300 students and professors easier, together with the organization of technological and educational events, along with the projects completion and research stays, that had positive impacts on all the Institute’s academic units.

Networking is a collaboration mechanism which is significantly fostered at the Institute. It is worth mentioning the recent creation of the network built in the Metropolitan Educational network, where the Institute, along with Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) promote student exchange among the three institutions. In the international arena, the Institute has a long-standing tradition of cooperation with institutions and universities of Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Germany,

Japan, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States of America, among others. The Residence for Visiting Researchers hosted 1,146 scholars from 30 countries during its first year of operation.