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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Symposium highlights innovative research by CMU’s College of Medicine and Medical Education Partners

by Kelly Belcher

The Central Michigan University College of Medicine, along with CMU Medical Education Partners, hosted the tenth annual Research Symposium at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw on Friday, April 25. This event highlights the research accomplishments of faculty, residents, fellows and students. Financial support for the awardees was generously provided by the Saginaw County Medical Society and the College of Medicine Research Administration department.

In total, more than 160 research initiatives were featured, with over 150 posters and 15 oral presentations. Topics of study spanned multiple disciplines and included projects focused on case reports, basic translational research, clinical research, population health, and quality improvement/medical education. All posters and oral presentations were evaluated by a panel of judges, and the winners in each category were announced at the end of the event.

Oral Presentations – Case Reports

First Place: Ahmad Kafri

Oral Presentations – All Other Categories

First Place: Hamdi Lababidi
Second Place Tie: Bhakthi Liyanage and Yamna Waseem

Poster Presentations – Case Reports

First Place: Carrie Wild
Second Place: Benjamin West
Third Place: Robert Alhaddadin

Poster Presentations – Basic Translational

First Place Tie: Garrett Borgman and Elsa Varughese
Second Place Tie: Chinoye Eze and Sid Osborn

Poster Presentations – Clinical

First Place: Joel DeJonge
Second Place Tie: Rica Generoso and Abimbola Kolawole
Third Place: Catherine Crow

Poster Presentations – Population Health

First Place: Eily Houck
Second Place: Nick Chiaramonti
Third Place: Amaresh Gogikar

Poster Presentations – Quality Improvement/Medical Education

First Place: Bradley Miller
Second Place: Umme Aiman Mirza

The College of Medicine also presented two Summer Scholar Awards, which provide each student with a paid position at CMU to continue their research for seven weeks over the summer. The Louis and Yvette Saravolatz award was given to Camryn Koperski and the Great Lakes Cardiovascular Wellness Research award was given to Matteo Mazzella. Additionally, Denise Mourad and Adil Mohammed received resident awards in internal medicine, and Yamsa Waseem received a resident award in family medicine.