Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship

We are a dedicated institute for student entrepreneurs across campus and beyond. We aim to maximize your success by fostering your entrepreneurial mindset, promote inter-disciplinary collaboration and provide support for the creation and development of your new ventures. Jumpstart your ideas and get involved today!

Tune in for excitement!

Passion. Potential. Pitches. Don't miss any of the 2025 New Venture Challenge excitement.

Tune in Friday, April 11 at 1 p.m. for great ideas and fierce competition. Then, join the judges, mentors, spectators and teams as they see who is going home with thousands of dollars in venture financing. The awards broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m. and one team will walk away as the overall best venture.

2025 NVC Competition Live Stream

2025 NVC Awards Live Stream

Start your entrepreneurial journey

Central Michigan University’s College of Business Administration is the home of the Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship and the first Department of Entrepreneurship in the state of Michigan. We are a student-centric hub where experiential, curricular, and external entrepreneurial opportunities intersect.

Our mission is to maximize student success by fostering a campus-wide entrepreneurial mindset that promotes inter-disciplinary collaboration and the creation of new ventures.

We aim to create innovative programming, boost cross-campus and ecosystem collaboration and provide a comprehensive mentoring program.

Our institute provides extracurricular opportunities and is open to all undergraduate and graduate CMU students.

Student opportunities

Meet experienced alumni, faculty, entrepreneurs, investors, and other business and political leaders.
Learn practical skills, innovative thinking, and connect with mentors and entrepreneurial resources.
Attend skill-building workshops and compete in pitch competitions and Hackathons.
Take part in special scholarship programs and travel experiences.
Pitch your venture at our signature New Venture Challenge event and compete for up to $20,000 in cash awards.

Find your path

Are you interested in becoming an entrepreneur?

Every journey is unique. Explore the opportunities that interest you.

A student standing with a faculty member holding big winning checks from the New Venture Challenge 2024.

Start up

Build up your venture idea.

Learn more

A student smiling and standing in front of his venture display at the 2024 New Venture Challenge.

Family business

Explore the Alternative Entrepreneurial Pathways category at NVC.

Learn more

A close-up of the Prusa i3 MK3 printer in the entrepreneurship makerspace, the IDEA Den in Grawn Hall 166.

Product and prototype design

Create and patent your ideas.

Learn more

Innovation

Explore your ideas and build your skills.

Learn more

Adobe software licensing changes for all CMU students

by Kari Chrenka

Adobe infinity symbol graphic with different textures and colors.

As an Adobe Creative Campus since 2020, CMU students, faculty, and staff have enjoyed and benefited from using Adobe software at no cost. Following the finalization of a new three-year contract, we are excited to now offer students two Adobe software options beginning on August 9th.

All students (new and returning) that wish to use Adobe software for coursework, research, personal projects, or in their role as a student employee must select one of the following options that best suits their needs for requesting or maintaining a license for the upcoming academic year.

If they know which Adobe software they need, they can request access today! Licenses requested now will be activated on August 9th.

If they are unsure, they will need guidance from faculty via the course syllabus, Blackboard messaging, or from their employment supervisor. (See "Recommended syllabus and/or Blackboard language for faculty" below.)

Students selections:

Option #1 - Adobe Express Premium

A collection of software targeted at beginner multimedia creators that wish to create and edit graphics, photos, logos, videos, social media content, print materials, and more, all within user-friendly and intuitive web and desktop applications that do not require extensive prior knowledge or skills. Remixable templates, design elements, tutorials, and guidance are embedded to help creators get great results quickly and have fun building their skills.

Best suited for students:

not majoring or minoring in multimedia-heavy disciplines.
with personal devices that have average processing power and/or smaller hard drives.
who wish to use Adobe software on a Chromebook.

Request a license for Adobe Express Premium

Option #2 - Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps

A more robust collection of industry-standard software targeted at intermediate and advanced creators with an extensive skillset and desire to create more complicated professional level multimedia from scratch. It empowers people to create without limits in virtually any medium, including photography, graphic design, film, video, animation, web and mobile UX, and more. Please note that students who choose this option can also use Express Premium software.

Best suited for students:

majoring in multimedia-heavy disciplines.
who are required to use more advanced software to complete course work and research.
who have or wish to expand their digital literacy skills for personal or professional endeavors.

Request a license for Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps

Please note

New users will be provided tutorials to download, install, and login to all software.
Returning students who used Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps at CMU:

will not lose any cloud-stored files.
still need to request access to one of the two available software collections.
do not need to uninstall or reinstall any software.
will simply log back in and continue using the software as you did in the past.

All students who do not request a license for a collection will still be able to use Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps software (without Adobe Cloud file storage) within designated CMU computer labs and on select workstations within Park Library. A license will be required to use Adobe software on any personally owned device.
License requests made after August 9th will be granted within one hour and you will be notified via email.
Faculty and staff licensing for Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps and Express Premium is not changing. No action is required on your part. Faculty can request a license here.

Visit CMU’s Adobe Creative Campus website for more information about the overall initiative.

Please contact the OIT Help Desk with questions and for technical support.

Recommended syllabus and/or Blackboard language for faculty

For faculty that require students to use Adobe Express Premium software

As part of your coursework and/or research, you will be required to use Adobe Express Premium software. This software is provided at no cost to you. Click here to request a license. You will be notified via email with additional information and tutorials for accessing, downloading, installing, and logging into the software.

For faculty that require students to use Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps software

As part of your coursework and/or research, you will be required to use one or more software applications within the Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps collection. This software is provided at no cost to you. Click here to request a license. You will be notified via email with additional information and tutorials for accessing, downloading, installing, and logging into the software.