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.

Learn more

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.

Learn more

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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CMU extends commitment to digital literacy with Adobe Digital Lounge

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Central Michigan University has created the Adobe Digital Lounge — a state-of-the-art collaboration space in Park Library featuring work areas, help from Adobe suite peer experts and a professional sound recording booth.

Last fall, Central Michigan University announced a new partnership with Adobe to become an Adobe Creative Campus. Through the Creative Campus program, Adobe provides all CMU students, faculty and staff with free access to the popular Adobe Creative Cloud software suite including Photoshop, Acrobat, Illustrator and many more.

This fall, to further invest in this program and commitment to digital literacy, the university has created the Adobe Digital Lounge — a state-of-the-art collaboration space in Park Library featuring work areas, help from Adobe suite peer experts and a professional sound recording booth.

The Adobe Digital Lounge opened at the beginning of the fall 2021 semester. CMU Libraries is hosting an open house for the lounge from 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27.

Students in the Adobe Lounge — CMU students use the south booth in the Adobe Digital Lounge.

CMU Libraries has been a key partner in this program with support through an award from the President's and Provost's Fund for Program Innovation and Excellence. The fund launched in October 2019 to innovate student-focused programs and accelerate strategic transformation.
"In the libraries, we have long focused on information literacy, and it is important that we continue to ramp up digital literacy through capabilities such as these," said Kathy Irwin, dean of University Libraries. "Arming our students, faculty and staff with the Adobe platform allows us to tell stories through innovative, creative forms."
Every current CMU student can access the cloud-based programs, and faculty and staff may request access through the CMU Help Desk. Participants may use the software on up to two devices on and off campus.
To further build literacy in these programs, CMU Libraries is also working to create a network of peer experts throughout the university so colleagues and fellow students may assist one another. Drop-in help with the Adobe platforms is scheduled at posted times Sunday-Friday at the lounge.
"Regardless of your major, subject matter expertise or project at hand, having the ability to communicate your knowledge in an effective and creative way is critical," Irwin said. "We are excited to see how these tools are used around campus to display amazing work."
Adobe partners on this program with select colleges and universities across the country that are committed to teaching digital literacy. In Michigan, CMU is one of only two Adobe Creative Campus institutions.
Learn more about the Adobe Creative Campus program on its website.