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.

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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.

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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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CMU's SET robotics lab offers cutting-edge opportunities and professional success

by Robert Wang

In the exciting world of robotics education, Central Michigan University's School of Engineering and Technology Robotics Lab has been a trailblazer, forming strong ties with industry leaders like FANUC America Corporation. This is because Dr. Shaopeng (Frank) Cheng, CMU Engineering faculty member and coordinator of SET Robotics Lab, has dedicated his higher education career to promoting, establishing, and maintaining this collaboration since 1995, which has opened up unique learning opportunities for engineering and technology students and immerse them in the cutting-edge field of advanced manufacturing, using top-notch products like FANUC robots.

Let's take a quick journey through the SET Robotics Lab's milestones

1988: The lab was founded with support from Michigan State, obtaining five first-gen GM-FANUC robots.

2001: CMU acquired the first new-gen FANUC M6i robot under the established CMU-FANUC partnership, fostering research and teaching on robotics.

2010: An enhanced CMU-FANUC partnership kicked off with the addition of three FANUC LR Mate 200iC robots and Dr. Shaopeng (Frank) Cheng became a FANUC Certified Instructor, which has made SET Robotics Lab a FANUC Certified Training Site for FANUC Robot Education in CMU Robotics courses EGR 371 and IET 375.

2013: The lab expanded with another FANUC LR Mate robot to accommodate growing enrollment in robotics courses.

Present: The lab currently houses five active FANUC robots, including one M6i and four 200iC models, used for EGR 371 and IET 375 student hands-on lab exercises on FANUC robot programming with FANUC Handling Tool Software and Teach Pendant (TP) Programming Language.

The impact on education

EGR 371 Robotics and Automation, capped at 26 students due to FANUC robot availability, is a highly sought-after elective at CMU, where robotics theory is taught through demonstrations of FANUC robot solutions in design, computation, and programming.

Spring 2024 sees a full enrollment of 26 students in EGR 371.

FANUC Robot Education Certificates are awarded to students completing EGR 371 or IET 375.

Over the last five years, around 170 students have earned these certificates, proving valuable in job searches.

Graduates' professional advantages

Alumni testimonials affirm that FANUC robotics knowledge and certificates from CMU give them a competitive edge in their careers.

Success stories include Collin, who thanks Dr. Frank Cheng’s teaching of FANUC robotics for preparing him to work on a FANUC M20 robot project at Summit Polymers, and Devin, a GM tech support engineer, expressing gratitude for real-world preparation through learning, now working on sealing robots for new Chevy, Buick, and GMC models.

These success stories highlight the vital role of partnerships between educational institutions like CMU and industry giants like FANUC, shaping the future of robotics education and launching graduates into promising careers in advanced manufacturing.