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.

2025 NVC Competition Live Stream

2025 NVC Awards Live Stream

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.

A student standing with a faculty member holding big winning checks from the New Venture Challenge 2024.

Start up

Build up your venture idea.

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A student smiling and standing in front of his venture display at the 2024 New Venture Challenge.

Family business

Explore the Alternative Entrepreneurial Pathways category at NVC.

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A close-up of the Prusa i3 MK3 printer in the entrepreneurship makerspace, the IDEA Den in Grawn Hall 166.

Product and prototype design

Create and patent your ideas.

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Innovation

Explore your ideas and build your skills.

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Network upgrade to improve access, save millions

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Central Michigan University is upgrading its wired and wireless network in ways that will improve coverage and reduce maintenance while also saving the university millions of dollars.

Office of Information Technology team members and contractors started upgrading network access in residential, athletic and facility spaces promptly after the Board of Trustees gave final approval to the project in June.

In support of the project, OIT launched a page so that members of the campus community can see where individual buildings fit on the schedule and that answers questions people might have.

According to the work schedule, 100% of the network hardware in academic and administrative buildings on the Mount Pleasant and remote/satellite locations is on pace for completion by summer 2025.

Additional access points are also scheduled for installation to improve overall indoor and outdoor network access.

A multi-year financing agreement will result in savings of nearly $7 million over the next six years with no reduction in the quality of service. CMU will also benefit from improved vendor support.

“The Board of Trustees approval of this resolution is a significant accomplishment for all of CMU and addresses a foundational IT investment needed to support  CMU's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan”, said Jim Bujaki, CMU’s Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer. “This project represents a significant step forward in modernizing CMU’s network infrastructure, providing reliable, high-speed connectivity that will support the university’s needs for years to come. The cost savings and enhanced performance underscore the strategic value of this investment.”