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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 the classroom to the kitchen: students cooking up delicious innovations

      by Kathleen Hodgkins

      On March 15, a unique collaboration occurred at the Allen Foundation Culinary Nutrition Center. CMU students Xiaobai Chen (Applied Statistics), Trang Thuy Nguyen (Chemistry), Wanping Chen (MBA), and Tien Nguyen (Mechanical Engineering, not pictured) joined forces to develop a new food product for the market. This cross-disciplinary teamwork is a hallmark of CMU students' fired-up attitude.

      Armed with spatulas and a shared vision, these students turned their classroom knowledge into practical skills in the test kitchen. This hands-on learning experience is vital to CMU's Nutrition and Dietetics program, fostering collaboration and innovation to create the next big culinary sensation.

      "The students had a tremendous experience cooking in the test kitchen while contributing their expertise from diverse backgrounds," Dr. Fisher stated.

      The newly renovated Allen Foundation Culinary Nutrition Center in Wightman Hall boasts 12 workstations equipped with commercial-style ovens and modern food service equipment. It's a state-of-the-art facility that enhances the learning experience for students in the Nutrition and Dietetics program. The courses offered here include NDS 160 Introduction to Food and Culinary Techniques, NDS 361 Food Science, and a new course offered every fall, NDS 291 Introduction to Wine.

      For information about the Allen Foundation Culinary Nutrition Center, please get in touch with the Director, Dr. Jeff Fisher, at fishe2jj@cmich.edu. To learn more about the Nutrition and Dietetics program and course offerings, please get in touch with program director Dr. Najat Yehia at yahia1n@cmich.edu.

      Questions?