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Build up your venture idea.
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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.
Trustees announce agenda for special March 15 session
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The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees will meet virtually in a special formal session at 11:00 a.m. Friday, March 15. The trustees will discuss and make decisions regarding the process to identify and select the next president of CMU.
Trustees will set the size of the presidential search advisory committee, voting on whether to add one more member to the group and bring the final committee membership to no more than 20 individuals. The agenda also includes a vote to approve the committee membership.
The Board of Trustees will also approve a charge for the search advisory committee and establish appropriate procedures for the search.
Adoption of a confidentiality agreement for search advisory committee members and an affirmative action statement regarding the presidential search process also will be considered, along with other next steps in the process.
The agenda for the special session is available on the Board of Trustees Agendas and Minutes webpage. Board of Trustees meetings are open to the university community and members of the public. Friday’s virtual meeting will be available to view via WebEx.
Per the Board of Trustees bylaws, individuals wishing to address the Board of Trustees during the public comment period of this special formal session must submit a request in advance of the meetings in one of two ways:
- Complete the “Request to Address the Board” online form: Individuals should add their comments in the topic section to be read aloud by the Board of Trustees Secretary during the formal session.
- Visit the Office of the President in Warriner Hall to complete a request card.
Individuals who submit a request for public comment may choose to deliver their comments in person in the President’s Conference Room in the Bovee University Center during the session.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the CMU Board of Trustees is April 18, 2024 on the university’s Mt. Pleasant campus.
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.
