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Building an Innovative Ecosystem
from CMU College of Business Administration - Fall 2023
by Central Michigan University College of Business Administration
BUILDING AN INNOVATIVE ECOSYSTEM
Fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among students and faculty from all academic backgrounds is the backbone of the Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship (IBIE) at CMU. The institute’s offerings continue to expand to bring together diverse and innovative thinkers from across the university.
SHOWCASING NEW VENTURES
At the 11th annual New Venture Challenge in April 2023, students showcased their innovative business ideas to a panel of judges. Students shared their unique solutions to current problems during the 2-minute pitch, 7-minute pitch, and trade-show competitions.
More than 300 guests experienced an array of unique ventures, including family-owned bakeries, temperature regulating mattresses for infants, and spice jars that support the measurement of ingredients.
This year’s event was enhanced by the introduction of the Campus Innovation Showcase, which highlighted student-led projects from a variety of disciplines across campus. From fashion and engineering to animation and broadcasting, the showcase allowed students to explore innovation and creativity outside of their typical fields and build connections with fellow entrepreneurs. By providing a platform for a diverse range of projects to be displayed, the showcase encouraged collaboration and creativity among students and guests.
While the New Venture Challenge is the most wellknown program hosted by IBIE, a range of other programs are offered throughout the year to make entrepreneurship accessible for all. Programs include
mini skill-builder sessions, campus hackathons, Make-a-Pitch competition, innovation boot camps, mentor meetups, and an entrepreneurship speaker series. The IBIE is also home to several unique opportunities for students such as the University Innovation Fellows program developed and hosted by Stanford University and the new Stephen Wakeling and Erin Gendron Entrepreneurial Scholars program.
BRINGING DREAMS TO LIFE
CMU students seeking to develop their business ideas have a new resource — the IDEA Den — which has quickly become the central location for entrepreneurship programs, workshops, guest speakers, one-on-one mentorship and student organization meetings.
Located in Grawn Hall, the IDEA Den comprises a variety of resources, including 3D printers and a Cricut machine, enabling students to pursue their entrepreneurial passions with the guidance of IDEA Den staff.
“We started the IDEA Den to create a community space for students of all disciplines to come together to ideate, test new ideas, and create new things, prototypes and ventures,” said Julie Messing, Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship director.
IDEA stands for Innovate, Design, Experiment and Activate, symbolizing the phases that entrepreneurs experience as they turn their ideas into business ventures.
HACKATHON: REIMAGINE
For the second year, Hackathon: Reimagine united students from across campus in tackling challenges that impact the campus and surrounding communities. Over the course of 24 hours, 90 students from 25 different majors came together in February 2023 to brainstorm creative solutions for issues that included on-campus navigation, personal information privacy and security, sports health and technology, and student debt resolution.
The hackathon provides an opportunity for students to utilize their skills and knowledge while fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. By leveraging technology and design thinking, students work together to create innovative solutions that benefit the campus community.
Computer science student Mackenzie Pollock participated with the Women in Technology student group for a second year. Pollock shared that she “enjoyed the atmosphere of the problem-solving competition while being a part of the process to develop a unique product from idea to reality” during the 24-hour event.
CONNECTING WITH UNIVERSITIES ACROSS THE NATION
The University Innovation Fellows program is a global initiative that empowers student leaders from diverse backgrounds to inspire and support each other, with the goal of increasing campus engagement in innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and design thinking.
Led by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, the program trains student fellows to design and implement initiatives that address the needs of their campus community, foster an entrepreneurial mindset and create a culture of innovation.
CMU’s second cohort, comprising three students from different academic colleges, worked to develop a map that highlights free resources and creative spaces available to students across campus.
“Together we have created an open space for collaborative creative thinking where we can share our ideas on how to improve creativity and entrepreneurship on campus,” said Rebecca Ridenour, an environmental studies student and UIF fellow.
