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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Bridging the gap between lab coats and beer mugs

by Teagan Haynes

Cancer research isn’t just for labs or textbooks, Cody Morrison, a third-year PhD candidate in the Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology program, made it the topic of a lively barroom conversation. Morrison recently stepped out of the lab and into a Grand Rapids bar to share his research with the public at "Science on Tap,” an event that challenges scientists to explain their work to non-experts in an engaging and comprehensible way.

A man holding a microphone in front of a stage.

Morrison’s presentation focused on his research with Cynthia Damer, Ph.D., working with amoebas, tiny organisms that serve as effective models for understanding human cancer biology. His team studies copine proteins which regulate many aspects of cells, and when the protein function is disrupted, cancer can result. While human copines remain poorly understood, Morrison hopes the insights gained from amoebas will bridge the knowledge gap, potentially paving the way for new cancer treatments and medicines.

To make his research relatable Morrison avoided complex jargon. He also incorporated creative props, distributing sticky notes to audience members throughout the bar at the beginning of his presentation. At the end of his talk, he had the audience crumple the sticky notes, symbolizing effective cancer treatment

Despite his preparation, Morrison admitted it wasn’t easy to simplify scientific concepts for an audience with high school-level science backgrounds. “I thought it would be straightforward, but staying surface-level was more difficult than I expected,” he said. The event was a personal milestone, as family and friends finally grasped the impact of his work. "The point of science is sharing," Morrison said, “and it’s important to close the gap between researchers and the public.”