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Build up your venture idea.
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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.
CMU announces 2021 spring semester schedule
by
Sanjay Gupta
CMU will continue to be vigilant against the spread of COVID-19 as it remains committed to on-campus learning for the spring 2021 semester.
Central Michigan University will continue to be vigilant against the spread of COVID-19 as it remains committed to on-campus learning for the spring 2021 semester.
"COVID-19 will still be with us next year," said Mary C. Schutten, executive vice president and provost. "CMU needs to continue being proactive to maintain our success in slowing its spread."
Here are details for the semester, which begins in January:
- The first week of classes, Jan. 11-15, will be fully online.
- Courses shift to meet in person, online or in a hybrid-flexible — or HyFlex — format beginning the week of Jan. 18.
- Instead of a weeklong spring break, five "wellness days" of no classes will be added to the calendar over the course of the semester. The traditional Gentle Thursday and Friday also will be rescheduled within the semester. The intent is to provide time away from normal class day experiences as well as to reduce widespread travel and the accompanying risk of exposure and spread of COVID-19.
- The spring semester ends with exams May 3-7.
- Study Abroad experiences are canceled for the semester.
Schutten said decisions about the spring calendar were collaborative and determined based on input from student groups, faculty leadership, the university's Emergency Management Team, President Bob Davies and the president's cabinet. CMU also will continue to follow guidance from its own medical authorities, regional and state public health agencies, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Our plans for spring align with our top goals during this pandemic: Keep CMU safe and healthy, open and operational, and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus," she said.
Current students may register at any time through CentralLink for spring 2021 as part of multi-semester course search and registration. Information available before Nov. 9 on spring courses is subject to changes to update the modalities and other course information.
Further information about the semester and beyond will be shared as it becomes available.
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.
