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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.
Audiology student aims to improve diagnostic accuracy in vestibular testing
by
Kathleen Hodgkins
Jana Al Jurdi chose Central Michigan Univeristy’s Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) program because it offers comprehensive clinical training with hands-on practice on different pieces of equipment, equipping us to handle a wide range of clinical situations.
Since starting the program, she has found a passion for Vestibular Audiology. This year, she has worked under the supervision of Dr. Dawn Nelson, intending to improve the accuracy of vestibular testing in detecting inner ear disorders. She recruited 40 participants and recorded their oVEMPs across three different pieces of vestibular equipment. oVEMPs are a type of test that assesses the balance system in the inner ear through recording eye muscle activity. The results of each of the participants were compared across each of the oVEMP recording systems used. This comparison revealed that one of the mostly used parameters to diagnose inner ear disorders, the amplitude (size) of the oVEMP, is the least reliable across different pieces of equipment. Ms. Al Jurdi commented, “Knowing that oVEMP amplitudes are an unreliable measure and vary significantly across different recording systems might push towards the establishment of new criteria to diagnose inner ear disorders and/or the establishment of equipment-specific normative data.” Thus, her findings could ultimately improve the diagnostic accuracy of oVEMP testing in the field of audiology.
As a result of her research, Ms. Al Jurdi will be presenting her findings at The Herbert H. and Grace A Dow College of Health Professions Research Symposium on April 9, 2024, from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm. Research across the health professions will be presented by faculty, staff, and students.
Ms. Al Jurdi is expected to graduate in May 2026 and will be starting her externship at Vanderbilt. We are excited to see what the future holds for her. She feels the AuD program at CMU has equipped her with all the research and clinical skills needed to pursue her PhD in Vestibular Audiology following graduation.
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.
