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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.

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

      Goldwater Scholar targets disease with research

      by User Not Found
      Ishani “Izzy” Gaidhane, a junior Honors student from Canton, MI, double majoring in biochemistry and mathematics has been awarded a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.
       
      After a semester of mostly online courses during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gaidhane was ready for a meaningful, hands-on experience in which she could potentially contribute to her field. 

      She began conducting research with Ben Swarts, a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The research, which focuses on the development of novel therapeutics to enhance the efficacy of existing anti-tuberculosis antibiotics, is funded by Swarts’ National Science Foundation CAREER Award. It was the experience Gaidhane had been hoping to find: Her passion for synthetic chemistry took shape as she started working on her project.

       

      Goldwater Scholar Izzy Gaidhane with her faculty mentor, Ben Swarts as they stand in a lab.
      Izzy Gaidhane, left, with her faculty mentor, Ben Swarts.

       

      “I had never been in an organic chemistry lab prior to this, nor had I taken a single class in organic chemistry,” Gaidhane said. “I enjoyed it so much that I started coming into my laboratory for several hours each day to make progress on my synthesis.”

      Gaidhane learned many technical skills from her research, but the experience also tested her determination and perseverance. 

      “I have learned to be patient and that sometimes research doesn’t work as expected,” Gaidhane said. “It took two years to synthesize and test a handful of molecules that significantly sensitized mycobacteria to specific antibiotics. My research is building small pieces of a bigger story.”

      Gaidhane worked throughout the Goldwater Scholarship application process with her research advisor, Ben Swarts, and Maureen Harke, the director of the CMU National Scholarship Program. The Goldwater Foundation supports college sophomores and juniors who demonstrate strong potential to become the next generation of leaders in STEM research. Gaidhane was selected from a competitive pool of 1,267 applicants from 427 institutions to receive this award.

      Ultimately, Gaidhane plans to pursue an M.D.-Ph.D. to prepare for a career in pharmaceutical development. 

      “My goal is to synthesize molecules to combat, discover treatments, and learn mechanisms to diseases, as well as clinical testing of such molecules,” she said.

      She is grateful for the mentorship and support she has received, both at home and at CMU, that will prepare her to achieve this goal.

      “I was fortunate to have a strong role model in my mother, who pushed me to work very hard in school,” Gaidhane said. “I would also like to thank Kyle Biegas, a graduate student in the lab who helped train me in experimental techniques.” 
      Gaidhane said her mentor, Ben Swarts was willing to help students like her connect with opportunities for professional growth. “In my case, this led to an independent research project and first author credit on a manuscript we are preparing for submission to an academic journal,” she said.

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