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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.

      Shaping the Academic Vision for CMU

      by Erica Peters

      Central Michigan University Provost and Executive Vice President, Nancy E. Mathews, has officially launched an initiative to develop CMU’s Academic Vision. Members of Central Michigan University and its surrounding community partners are invited to participate in CMU’s Academic Vision process. By shaping the Academic Vision, an essential element of the campus strategic plan, CMU will position itself to respond to a wide range of relevant and challenging dynamics in the higher education landscape of the future. This effort will be grounded in scenario planning, which is a strategy-related methodology employed by many organizations to test their long-term assumptions and explore the uncertain landscape of their future environment.

      One of the greatest strengths of scenario-based strategic planning is the engagement of the organization in the development of the strategies. The process is designed to make deeply held assumptions and beliefs explicit and to test those beliefs and assumptions against the critical uncertainties facing the university. Critical uncertainties become the building blocks for scenarios. The resulting scenarios provide a context for developing strategies and monitoring the external environment, enabling CMU to build adaptive capabilities and proactively shape its future.

      To provide input, individuals can visit the Academic Vision webpage, which includes a survey seeking input from students, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders. The survey will remain open until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18. Join CMU’s next phase of planning and contribute to the future of the university.

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      Questions?

      Contact the team