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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.
Find your path
Are you interested in becoming an entrepreneur?
Every journey is unique. Explore the opportunities that interest you.
Record number of students and residents take part in research symposium
by
Megan Winans
More than 100 students, residents and faculty submitted proposals for the eighth annual CMU College of Medicine and CMU Medical Education Partners Research Symposium. A group of seventy judges, including students and faculty, chose 10 projects for presentation at the April 29, 2022, virtual event.
The symposium provides feedback from faculty and peers and prepares the students to present regionally and nationally,” said S. Sethu K. Reddy, M.D., senior associate dean of research at the CMU College of Medicine. “This recognition will help them further their medical careers post-graduation.”
More than 130 students, residents, faculty, community faculty, plus several external guests, participated in the Friday afternoon symposium. Research topics included assessment of neuronal communication, workplace violence in the emergency department, and several COVID-19 related presentations.
This year’s guest speaker, Michael J. Conway, Ph.D., CMU associate professor of microbiology, spoke about his research into emerging infectious diseases. Conway is part of a large network of scientists who monitor SARS-CoV-2 trends in wastewater and report the data to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The state uses the data to inform public health decisions.
The winning presentations were:
First place: Mansi Prakash, Ph.D., CMU postdoctoral fellow working with Ute Hochgeschwender, M.D., CMU professor of neuroscience—Interluminescence: Selective Control of Synaptically Connected Circuit Elements by All-Optical Synapses and its Applications.
Second place: Andrew Namespetra, M.D., resident in CMU Medical Education Partners’ Emergency Medicine Program working with Derek Schaller, M.D., assistant program director of the CMU Medical Education Partners Emergency Medicine Program—Combatting Violence in the Emergency Department: A Quality Improvement Project.
Third place: Soundharya Subramaniam, CMU medical student, working with Adeeba Khan, M.D., CMU assistant professor of pediatrics, and Beth Bailey, Ph.D., CMU professor of psychology and director of health services research—Impact of In-utero Opioid Exposure on Social-emotional Development Over Time
The symposium provides feedback from faculty and peers and prepares the students to present regionally and nationally,” said S. Sethu K. Reddy, M.D., senior associate dean of research at the CMU College of Medicine. “This recognition will help them further their medical careers post-graduation.”
More than 130 students, residents, faculty, community faculty, plus several external guests, participated in the Friday afternoon symposium. Research topics included assessment of neuronal communication, workplace violence in the emergency department, and several COVID-19 related presentations.
This year’s guest speaker, Michael J. Conway, Ph.D., CMU associate professor of microbiology, spoke about his research into emerging infectious diseases. Conway is part of a large network of scientists who monitor SARS-CoV-2 trends in wastewater and report the data to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The state uses the data to inform public health decisions.
The winning presentations were:
First place: Mansi Prakash, Ph.D., CMU postdoctoral fellow working with Ute Hochgeschwender, M.D., CMU professor of neuroscience—Interluminescence: Selective Control of Synaptically Connected Circuit Elements by All-Optical Synapses and its Applications.
Second place: Andrew Namespetra, M.D., resident in CMU Medical Education Partners’ Emergency Medicine Program working with Derek Schaller, M.D., assistant program director of the CMU Medical Education Partners Emergency Medicine Program—Combatting Violence in the Emergency Department: A Quality Improvement Project.
Third place: Soundharya Subramaniam, CMU medical student, working with Adeeba Khan, M.D., CMU assistant professor of pediatrics, and Beth Bailey, Ph.D., CMU professor of psychology and director of health services research—Impact of In-utero Opioid Exposure on Social-emotional Development Over Time
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.
