IET is a multi-disciplinary research unit of CICS.NOVA research centre, located in FCT-UNL, a faculty in the area of engineering, science and technology. IET was founded as an independent research centre in 2002 from various research groups with experience in national and international networks. Ten years after started a process to FCT-UNL pole of CESNOVA research centre. And from 2014 CESNOVA was integrated with other research centres in the new CICS.NOVA,

These groups develop their activities in the fields of industrial sociology,  ergonomics, management systems, prospective analysis in innovation, economics, and organizational studies. This disciplinar skill allows the unit to develop different kinds of studies, but the common technical characteristic is related to the innovative systems, at the company (networks, management, mergers and competition frameworks, quality systems, strategy), and the labour systems level (organization, labour relations, ergonomics and safety, telework.

Is the unique research centre in Portugal that covers this  inter-disciplinary field.

The responsibles for the focus areas belong to departments and different units in FCTUNL: Social Applied Sciences (DCSA), Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (DEMI), UNINOVA - Institute for the development of new technologies and Madan Parque - Science and Technology Park of Almada-Setúbal.

One of the unit's main objective is the national and international cooperation activities, establishing various research networks at an European level, and envolving also colleagues from South and North America.

For that it has been created an International Scientific Board and a National Advisory Board. IET/CICS.NOVA edits  since 2005 a scientific journal (Enterprise and Work Innovation Studies) and organize meetings and regular conferences, namely international events. From 2007 started the edition of the IET Working Papers Series .

It is maintained information at the economics and social sciences repository RePEc (Research Papers in Economics).