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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.
Great Lakes research is center stage
by
Sanjna Jassi
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga and Michigan DNR Director Daniel Eichinger are to address Central Michigan University’s sixth annual Great Lakes in Action Symposium.
Two Great Lakes influencers will speak at Central Michigan University's sixth annual Great Lakes Science in Action Symposium on Friday, Oct. 11.
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, is keynote speaker. He is a member of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services and co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, a bipartisan group that works to enhance the economic and environmental health of the Great Lakes.
Guest speaker is Daniel Eichinger, director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Previously, he was executive director of Michigan United Conservation Clubs, where he is credited with advocating for policies to protect the Great Lakes from invasive species and working on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
The symposium takes place from 9 a.m. to noon in the auditorium of CMU's Biosciences Building, beginning with an introduction from CMU President Bob Davies. The event is free and open to the public.
A question-and-answer session will follow each speaker.
The event also will host a panel discussion among CMU's Great Lakes researchers, covering the topics of mussels and their importance to Michigan rivers, the Great Lakes coastal wetland monitoring program, and water quality changes in the lakes.
A prescreening of WCMU Public Media's new documentary, "Linking Land and Lakes," will follow.
Leader on the lakes
CMU is a recognized leader in studying the Great Lakes. The Institute for Great Lakes Research — with 31 faculty members among five different departments — is supported by state-of-the-art facilities in Mount Pleasant and at the CMU Biological Station on Beaver Island.
Central is overseeing its second $10 million EPA grant since 2010 to conduct Great Lakes wetlands research and allocates funds through this grant to 10 other universities, four governmental agencies and one private partner.
An interactive map features highlights of this summer's Great Lakes research projects conducted by CMU faculty, students and other research partners.
Members of the media who plan to attend the symposium are asked to contact University Communications at news@cmich.edu or 989-774-3197.
Signature Programs
Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship
Explore special opportunities to learn new skills and travel the world.
Compete & Win
New Venture Challenge 2025
Present your venture and win BIG at the New Venture Challenge.
Build your skills
Workshops and events
Boost your entrepreneurial skills through our workshops, mentor meetups and pitch competitions.
Develop your ideas
IDEA Den
Learn about the entrepreneurship makerspace on campus in Grawn Hall.
Ready, Set, Pitch!
Make-A-Pitch 2024
Present a 2-minute pitch at the Make-A-Pitch Competition and you could win prizes and bragging rights!
Meet Mentors
Mentorship and support
Connect with mentors and faculty who are here to support the next generation of CMU entrepreneurs.
Support students
Make an impact
Are you a CMU alum looking to support CMU student entrepreneurs? Learn how you can support or donate to the Entrepreneurship Institute.
View our programming newsletter
Alumni give back to students through mentorship, real-world experiences
The Wakeling Gendron Entrepreneurial Scholars program wrapped its first cohort this academic year.
Students compete to win cash prizes at the New Venture Challenge
Pitched 40 ventures at NMV Challenge, Friday, April 19, CMU. Judges awarded $100,000 in cash prizes.
Wakeling Gendron Scholars make a life-changing trip to Texas
Wakeling and Gendron Scholars attended SXSW in Texas, meeting industry leaders and gaining entrepreneurial insights.
Business barriers lead CMU students to a new venture
Justin Ashman and Philip Mundt won Central Michigan University's New Venture Competition with their 3-D printing operation, Form Further.
