Events
2026 Events
Meet the Finalists - August - Exclusive to Sponsors, Finalists and Board
This exclusive event, open only to InnoVision Finalists, Sponsors and Board Members, will be held at the end of August.
Become a sponsor today and be part of the intimate group as we introduce this year’s Finalists for the 2026 InnoVision Awards.
From Prototype to Plant Floor Series
Michelin Plant Tour - August 12th
Prototype to Plant Floor: an exclusive tour of Michelin’s plant in Anderson, SC, where they manufacture some of the largest tires on earth.
2026 Event Series: From Prototype to Plant Floor
Part 1: Michelin’s Earthmover Tire Plant
InnoVision announces Part 1 of our From Prototype to Plant Floor event series: an exclusive tour of Michelin’s US10 plant in Anderson, SC, where they manufacture some of the largest tires on Earth.
We’re talking tires that stand over 13 feet tall. Tires that weigh up to 5.5 tons. Tires built for the world’s largest mining trucks, wheel loaders, and earthmovers. Tires operating in quarries, construction sites, ports, and underground mines across more than 1,300 operations worldwide, shipped through the Port of Charleston to global destinations.
This is advanced manufacturing at a scale most people never get to witness up close, and Michelin is opening their doors exclusively for the InnoVision community.
📅 Wednesday, August 12 · 2:00 – 5:00 PM
📍 Michelin US10 Plant · 10 Bib Way Anderson, SC 29626
Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SiMT) Tour and Rural Health Forum - September 23rd
2026 Event Series: From Prototype to Plant Floor
Part 2: SiMT Prototype and Advacned Manufacturing Tour and Forum
InnoVision is proud to announce Part 2 of our From Prototype to Plant Floor series — an exclusive tour of SiMT, the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology, on the campus of Florence-Darlington Technical College.
Before a medical device enters a clinical trial, before a component ships to an aerospace customer: it starts as an idea that needs to become an object.
SiMT is a state-of-the-art industrial 3D printing center with a fully integrated machine shop: one of the most capable rapid prototyping facilities in the Southeast. SiMT the kind of facility where a concept becomes a physical object, where a sketch becomes something you can hold in your hand. It’s where engineers stress-test ideas before they go to the plant floor, where manufacturers solve problems before they become expensive mistakes, and where early-stage companies prototype the products that could define their future.
📍 SiMT — Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology Florence-Darlington Technical College · Florence, SC
📅 Wednesday, September 23rd 🕐 4:30 – 6:30 PM
4:30 Check in and connect
5:00 Program begins
Winthrop Rock Hill Innovation Hub Forum - October date tbd
Annual InnoVision Awards Ceremony
Thursday, November 5th
The Thornblade Club, Greer
Buy a Table for the 2026 InnoVision Awards
Individual tickets will go on sale in September.
Prior Events - 2026
We were proud to be a part of Chucktown Startups’ Capital Connections event, kicking off Charleston Tech Week at CODE/+/TRUST. Panelists Luke Wright (Project Rhino), Christine Callahan (GMX Ventures), Meghan Corsello (SCRA), and Matt Williams (United Community Bank), moderated by Elliott T. Friedman, gave founders a candid look at how capital actually flows in this region: bootstrap as long as you can, get customers before you pitch, protect your IP, and know your numbers cold. Thanks to Toby Palmer, CEPA® and Chucktown Startups for a great kickoff to Tech Week, and thank you to Jamie DeMent of South Carolina Competes for your kind words and support of InnoVision over the years!
Capital Connections: Providing Clarity for Founders @ Charleston Tech Week with Chucktown Startups
2026 South Carolina Innovation Awareness Month Kickoff Breakfast
InnoVision, The Medical University of South Carolina, SC Competes, The South Carolina Department of Commerce and The South Carolina Research Authority – SCRA kicked off Innovation Awareness Month in South Carolina.
Innovation Awareness Month is a recognition of the state’s growing role as a national hub for technology, entrepreneurship, and research-driven economic development. The initiative has expanded each year, bringing together a broader coalition of institutions that are reshaping what South Carolina’s future looks like.
The IAM 2026 Kickoff Breakfast featured remarks from national, state, and institutional leaders, including William “Bill” Kirkland, Interim President & CEO, South Carolina Research Authority, Julie Kunkle, Director of Global Business Development, South Carolina Department of Commerce, Todd Headley, CEO, Zucker Institute for Innovation Commercialization, MUSC, Susie Shannon, President & CEO, South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, Elizabeth Dougherty, Regional Outreach Director, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Hunter Freeman, Attorney, Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm, InnoVision Awards Chair, and Doug Kim, Immediate Past Chair, InnoVision Awards; Founding Attorney, Kim, Lahey & Killough Law Firm, which provided the breakfast.
SC Competes Spring Summit
InnoVision was a proud partner in the SC Competes Spring Summit March 3rd and 4th in Rock Hill at Winthrop University: Two days of industry insight, strategic connections and talent engagement.
The SC Competes Spring Summit convenes industry leaders, manufacturers, solution providers, educators, and emerging talent for two days of purposeful networking and forward-looking dialogue. Designed to drive real business outcomes and workforce alignment, the Spring Summit blends curated matchmaking, hands-on mentorship, and executive-level discussion around the technologies and policies shaping the future of industry.
InnoVision joined NextGEN for the first Forum of 2026 at Flywheel in Greenville with an insightful panel: Demystifying South Carolina Funding Resources which brought together leaders from:
- South Carolina Department of Commerce
- South Carolina Council of Competitiveness
- Fraunhofer USA Alliance
- South Carolina Research Authority
- 3Phase
- InnoVision Awards
Attendees enjoyed a panel discussion and connected directly with each group in order to ask questions, explore opportunities, and understand which programs might be the right fit for their stage, followed by lunch.
South Carolina has a surprising number of funding, support and commercialization resources available to founders, but many entrepreneurs either don’t know they exist or aren’t sure how to engage with them. This Founders Forum offered attendees a chance to get real answers from the source.
Prior Events - 2025
The 2025 InnoVision Awards
The InnoVision Awards, South Carolina’s premier recognition program for innovation and technology, presented its annual awards on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at The Palmetto Club in Columbia.
Read the release here. Stay tuned for an event photo gallery, finalist videos and the entire program to be uploaded soon!
Winthrop Forum: Advancing in an AI Economy
The 2025 Meet the Finalists Event
Presenting Sponsor South Carolina Research Authority hosted the 2025 InnoVision Awards Meet the Finalists event at the City Club of Greenville on August 25th. Read more about the finalists here.
InnoVision Forum: The Ethical Considerations of using AI in Healthcare
Dr Hamilton Baker and Aaron Heath of MUSC discuss the ethical considerations of using AI in healthcare at an InnoVision Forum held in the atrium of The Harbor Entrepreneur Center in Mt. Pleasant, SC. May 2025.
InnoVision Forum: M&A - Preparing for a Sale
The Harbor Entrepreneur Center’s Coffee with Closers with panelists Cian Robinson, Elias Bustos and Douglas Kim on M&A – preparing for a sale. April 2025.
2025 South Carolina Innovation Awareness Month Kickoff Breakfast
Innovation leaders from throughout South Carolina gathered to kickoff Innovation Awareness Month at a breakfast at the Palmetto Club in downtown Columbia, April 2025.
