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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.

      Graduate student researches wild rice in Western Michigan

      by Henry Heller

      Julia Place, a graduate student studying biology, is researching the southern wild rice species, Zizania aquatica, in Western Michigan. Wild rice is a state-threatened species and Place’s goal is to create a habitat suitability index for the species. Southern wild rice is culturally significant for Native Americans and is ecologically important as a food source, particularly in rivers of the Great Lakes region. Despite its significance, little is known about the species. 

      Place will begin assessing the distribution and extent of wild rice and comparing these to environmental factors such as water quality, flow rate, and the nutrients present in the Fall of 2024. Place’s index would inform the community on the impact environmental changes would have on the rice population. The ultimate goal is identifying areas with favorable conditions for wild rice and guiding conservation efforts to preserve and protect these areas. 

      As an undergrad at CMU, Place became interested in working with plants and fieldwork after participating in research with the Institute for Great Lakes Research. When deciding on grad school, Place met with Scott McNaught, Ph.D., to discuss her next steps. In this meeting, McNaught discussed his interests, and the wild rice project was mentioned. Place says, “I just wanted to be out in the wetlands. The project kind of fell in my lap and made me excited to work with both federal and state agencies.” 

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

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