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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.

      Scholarship Fair links students to financial support

      by Eric Baerren
      A woman with long hair holds a pamphlet while a second woman with medium-length hair explains its contents.
      Two participants in the student scholarship fair examine the contents of a pamphlet.

      Students explored scholarships that Central Michigan University offers during a student-led fair in Bovee University Center’s rotunda on Feb. 20.

      Representatives of various departments and colleges on campus guided students through various options, including support for study abroad programs.

      This guidance is crucial, said Carolina Hernandez Ruiz, president of the Student Government Association. Ruiz organized the event for the second year in a row.

      The fair connects students with essential resources that help them better manage the costs of their education, she said. It also highlights what financial support is available on campus.

      “Many department scholarships often have limited applicants due to a lack of awareness,” Ruiz said. “Increasing visibility for these opportunities would not only encourage more applicants but also foster healthy competition and better address student financial need.”

      Attendees agreed.

      “I think this fair’s a helpful thing because students don’t know about scholarships and they can succeed,” said Pranali Chhapamohan, a sophomore in the College of Science and Engineering.

      The fair was a collaboration between the Office of the Provost and the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. SGA hosted it for the second year in a row, with an eye on future fairs.

      “Our goal is to establish the scholarship fair as an annual campus event, similar to MainStage, ensuring long-term support for students’ financial well-being,” Ruiz said.

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