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.

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Innovation

Explore your ideas and build your skills.

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Board of Trustees Agenda Preview: Dec. 2022 Meetings

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The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees will vote on a motion authorizing organizational changes within the College of the Arts and Media when it meets for its formal session at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

During the Academic and Student Affairs Committee meeting on Wednesday, Trustees will hear about international student recruitment success, how the university community benefits from international students, and plans for delivery of services for international students.

Thursday’s formal session – as well as committee meetings Wednesday afternoon – will be open to the university community and the general public with both in-person and virtual viewing options.

All meetings will be held in the President’s Conference Room in the Bovee University Center, with seating for up to 25 individuals in the adjoining Lake Superior Room; all meetings are also available via livestream:

View the Wednesday committee meetings via livestream.
View the Thursday formal session via livestream.

Other highlights of Wednesday’s committee agendas include:

Health Care Special Committee, 12:30-1:00 p.m. — Trustees will discuss the recommendations of the Health Care Special Committee.
Academic and Student Affairs Committee, 1:15-2:45 p.m. — Provost Nancy Mathews will provide an Academic Affairs update. Ling Zhang, director of Graduate and International Recruitment, and Jennifer DeHaemers, vice president of Student Recruitment and Retention, will discuss efforts to support international students. Vice President Renee' Watson and members of her leadership team also will provide an update on strategies for student engagement and support.
Finance and Facilities Committee, 3:00-3:30 p.m. — Trustees will discuss deferred maintenance and the planned demolition of Northwest Apartments in 2024 and review other agenda items for approval at Thursday’s formal session.
Trustees-Faculty Liaison Committee, 3:45-4:45 p.m. — Wiline Pangle, from the Department of Biology, will give a presentation on the proposed Integration of Science, Technology and Engineering certificate program.
Trustees-Student Liaison Committee, 5:00-6:00 p.m. — Trustees will hear reports from several student leaders, including Taylor Idema and Natalie Brant, Student Government Association; Maezie Ervin and Hadlee Rinn, CMU Program Board; and Ryan Biller, Residence Housing Association.

Agendas for the December meetings, including a schedule of committee meetings, are available on the Board of Trustees website.

In accordance with the Board of Trustees bylaws, in-person public comment will be allowed for Thursday's formal session by submitting a request online or visiting the Office of the President in Warriner Hall.