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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.

      Four music students awarded ORGS grant to travel to Italy

      by Henry Heller

      Four graduate students from the CMU School of Music were awarded the Summer Study Grant for their performance in the Chamber Music Festival "I Suoni di Sillene" . This will be a collaborative learning experience for the students and will host Benjamin Bernardes and Francesca Azzollini on violin, Haziel Santos on cello, and Erick Tinitana on viola. Together, the students make up the Xenia Quartet. 

      Their study and performance is an extension of their Master of Music degree journey. As a string quartet, the four individuals work together to explore their personal and communal musical skills, working within the beautiful context of  chamber music. An international string quartet, Francesca is from Italy, Bernardes and Santos from Brazil, and Tinitana hails from Ecuador. 

      Currently their next steps is a trip to Italy to participate in the "Suoni di Sillene" Festival, where they will be taught by Dr Alicia Valoti and Prof. Paolo Andreoli, renowned second violinist of the "Quartetto di Cremona". The group is excited to continue their growth as individuals and as a quartet, and look forward to an important culminating performance in Italy. They hope that with this trip they all will be able to return to share their experiences and what they have learned with the communities of CMU. 

      The group has been working for several hours a day over the years under the supervision of Dr. Alicia Valoti and they are very grateful for the opportunity. Their grant covers most of their travel and necessities for their trip to Italy. 

      This story is brought to you by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies.

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