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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 is home to Michigan’s only Otoscan 3D ear scanner

      by Sanjna Jassi
      The advanced technology of the Natus Otoscan device helps sets Central Michigan University’s audiology program apart from others in the state.

      Central Michigan University audiology doctoral student Karli Didion gently places the Natus Otoscan sensor in a patient's ear canal as a 3D image begins to appear on the computer screen.

      CMU's Otoscan, a 3D ear scanner, is the only one of its kind in Michigan.

      "Many audiologists are still creating ear impressions with a silicone material, which can create an uncomfortable experience for the patient," Didion, a native of Greenville, Michigan, said. "Having an opportunity to learn and use this device as part of my studies puts me at the forefront of the latest technology and, at the same time, provides more comfortable care for patients."

      The Otoscan is used to create custom in-ear pieces for patients, including hearing aids, earmolds, swim plugs and musicians monitors. CMU purchased the device and began using it during the spring semester of 2019.

      The advanced technology of the Otoscan device sets the university's audiology program apart in the state.

      Nicole Ferguson, interim director of the Carls Center for Clinical Care and Education and director of clinical education and services in audiology at The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions, said the device allows CMU to train students on traditional ways of assisting patients, while also teaching them cutting-edge technology.

      "Graduates of our program are well known for being quality clinicians," she said.

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