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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.

      From personal inspiration to professional impact: Student makes a difference in audiology

      by Teagan Haynes

      Did you know that audiologists now screen patients’ eyes as well as their ears? Jana Al Jurdi, a graduate student in the CMU Audiology doctoral program, presented her research describing how audiologists can screen for rapid movement of both eyes (saccade) to help diagnose mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia, and Alzheimer’s Disease. Al Jurdi says that those who saw her poster thought it was a real “ah ha” moment and that some audiologists took notes so they could implement her research in their practices. 

      Al Jurdi works with Dawn Nelson, Ph.D. in the Audiology Department and presented her findings at the Michigan Audiology Coalition Conference (MAC), a collaborative, nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of audiology and audiologists in Michigan. This marks her second time presenting a research poster at MAC. 

      Al Jurdi is inspired to become an audiologist because when she was younger her grandpa had some problems with his balance and dizziness because of his hearing. Additionally, Al Jurdi had a friend who had a cochlear implant which sparked her interest. Al Jurdi strives to make a change with her research, hoping that her study shows that testing of eye movements as well as hearing is effective and can continue to be used by future audiology researchers. 

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