The number of challenges facing companies in their development activities is numerous, some coming from new markets and technologies, and some more abstract, like conflicts between short term efficiency and long term innovativeness. Improving collaboration between industry and academia is considered critical—the aim of this paper is to contribute to the discussion on long term learning collaboration between academia and industry, being a core competence area in itself. Another purpose is to form a platform for experience sharing, and increased integration capability for sustaining common knowledge—and practice development. The paper includes an analysis of several collaboration programs between academia and industry conducted in Sweden, resulting in conclusions and advises concerning what to consider for collaborative work.