Start up
Build up your venture idea.
Learn more
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.
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.
CMU enters THE World University Rankings for the first time
by
Henry Heller
CMU ranked for the first time in the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings which provides the definitive list of the world’s best universities, with an emphasis on the research mission. THE World University Rankings uses 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators to provide the most comprehensive and balanced comparisons and the overall list is accompanied by 11 subject-specific rankings.
THE World University Rankings is also the only global university ranking system to judge research-intensive universities across multiple core missions:
Teaching: the learning environment
Research environment: volume, income, and reputation
Research quality: the outputs of research
Industry: knowledge transfer
International outlook: staff, students, and research
The 2024 ranking list includes 1,904 universities across 108 countries and regions. This year’s ranking analyzed more than 134 million citations across 16.5 million research publications and included survey responses from 68,402 scholars globally. Overall, the ranking collected 411,789 data points from more than 2,673 institutions.
THE World University Rankings is one of three major systems to evaluate universities; CMU is also ranked in the QS World University Rankings for the third consecutive year. Among schools in the Mid-American Conference, CMU is one of only six schools to hold ranking in multiple systems.
In 2022, CMU surpassed Western Michigan University in scholarly output. At the same time, the impact of CMU publications is at a 25-year high.
CMU’s Vice President for Research and Innovation, David C. Weindorf, Ph.D., says the new achievements are a direct reflection of its faculty, staff, and students. He said, “In addressing society’s grand challenges, CMU’s faculty, staff, and students have boldly answered the call and are driving novelty and discovery in so many ways that meaningfully touch lives. From the sciences to the visual and performing arts, the commitment of everyone at CMU has been world-class.”
This story is brought to you by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.
Signature Programs
Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship
Explore special opportunities to learn new skills and travel the world.
Compete & Win
New Venture Challenge 2025
Present your venture and win BIG at the New Venture Challenge.
Build your skills
Workshops and events
Boost your entrepreneurial skills through our workshops, mentor meetups and pitch competitions.
Develop your ideas
IDEA Den
Learn about the entrepreneurship makerspace on campus in Grawn Hall.
Ready, Set, Pitch!
Make-A-Pitch 2024
Present a 2-minute pitch at the Make-A-Pitch Competition and you could win prizes and bragging rights!
Meet Mentors
Mentorship and support
Connect with mentors and faculty who are here to support the next generation of CMU entrepreneurs.
Support students
Make an impact
Are you a CMU alum looking to support CMU student entrepreneurs? Learn how you can support or donate to the Entrepreneurship Institute.
View our programming newsletter
Alumni give back to students through mentorship, real-world experiences
The Wakeling Gendron Entrepreneurial Scholars program wrapped its first cohort this academic year.
Students compete to win cash prizes at the New Venture Challenge
Pitched 40 ventures at NMV Challenge, Friday, April 19, CMU. Judges awarded $100,000 in cash prizes.
Wakeling Gendron Scholars make a life-changing trip to Texas
Wakeling and Gendron Scholars attended SXSW in Texas, meeting industry leaders and gaining entrepreneurial insights.
Business barriers lead CMU students to a new venture
Justin Ashman and Philip Mundt won Central Michigan University's New Venture Competition with their 3-D printing operation, Form Further.
