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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.

      Scholarly pursuits: South Korea

      by Sanjna Jassi
      CMU student Joshua Briscoe receives Fulbright grant to teach in South Korea.

      Joshua Briscoe, a Central Michigan University senior from Limerick, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Grant to teach English in South Korea.

      Briscoe, who is double-majoring in international relations and cultural and global studies, is a third-generation CMU student. He applied for a Fulbright award after being mentored by philosophy and religion faculty member Hope May, who was a Fulbright Scholar in South Korea from 2017 to 2018. He worked with Honors Program staff and Maureen Harke, coordinator of the CMU National Scholarship Program, to complete the application process.

      During his Fulbright year, Briscoe hopes to develop a better understanding of Korean culture and education. Briscoe plans to pursue a Ph.D. in political science and said the Fulbright experience will add shape to his future research on human rights, forced migration and conflict.

      Each year, fewer than 2,000 U.S. students, artists and young professionals receive Fulbright grants to study, conduct research and teach English abroad. Fulbright student programs are offered in more than 140 countries around the world. Students are selected based on their academic merit, leadership and cultural competency.

      Briscoe will live and teach in South Korea for a year — the longest he’s ever been abroad. He hopes others will be inspired by his journey.

      “I want to encourage all students to go abroad and learn about other cultures so they can experience some of the things that were transformative for me as an undergraduate at CMU,” he said.

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