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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CMU political science professor receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award

by Sarah Buckley

Central Michigan University Political Science Professor Prakash Adhikari has received the 2024-2025 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Award to teach and conduct research on forced migration and global security at the University of Malawi in Malawi, Africa.

In collaboration with faculty and students at the School of Law, Economics and Government, Adhikari will conduct a public opinion survey on forced migration in Malawi. He’ll also deliver public lectures on the implications of forced migration to national, regional and global security.

This will be the second major international research Adhikari has conducted in the field of forced migration. Previously, he conducted a national public opinion survey in Nepal (2008-2009) funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). At that time, he investigated the causes of civilian displacement during civil war, making an important contribution to the literature on forced migration by bringing in, for the first time, primary data to understand individual level decision making and coping behavior during conflict.

Professor Prakash Adhikari (center, wearing blue shirt and glasses) and CMU student Brady Whalen (front row center, wearing CMU sweatshirt) with graduate students at the University of Malawi. — Professor Prakash Adhikari (center, wearing blue shirt) and CMU student Brady Whalen (front row center, wearing CMU sweatshirt) with graduate students at the University of Malawi.

"It is an honor to be selected for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award," said Adhikari. “I am beyond thrilled for an opportunity to work with friends and colleagues in Malawi.”

Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs, and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad.

Richard Rothaus, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at CMU says the college’s mission and the Fulbright Program are in good alignment. In addition to Dr. Adhikari, CLASS has a distinguished record of faculty Fulbright Scholars including Dr. Hope May (Korea) and Drs. Lane and Jennifer Demas (Taiwan).

“We have excellent faculty focused on how their research can help their students thrive in challenging global situations,” said Rothaus.

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. The Institute of International Education implements the Fulbright U.S. Student and U.S. Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. For more information, visit the Fulbright Program website.