Events
Annual InnoVision Awards Ceremony
Join us as we announce the winners of the 2026 InnoVision Awards!
The evening will include a cocktail hour followed by a buffet dinner, and the awards celebration during which we will showcase each finalist’s innovation with a video profile and announce the winner in each award category.
In addition, the Michelin Ibrahim Janajreh Young Innovator and highly coveted Dr. Charles Townes Individual Achievement Award will be presented.
These awards are the mark of distinction for the many organizations, individuals, educators, and leaders who have been honored over the 28-year history of the InnoVision Awards.
Your tickets include delicious food, an open bar, and the opportunity to network and mingle with some of the brightest minds in our state! We look forward to celebrating their outstanding contributions to South Carolina’s innovation economy.
📅 Thursday, November 5th
📍 The Thornblade Club, Greer
Sponsor the InnoVision Awards
Buy Tickets or a Table for the 2026 InnoVision Awards
Prior Events - 2026
Prototype to Plant Floor Series: Part 3: From Invention to Industry at Winthrop University with Carolina Tech Founders
The evening also featured a standout moment from Winthrop’s own: students Lukas Andrews and Lou Neal presented their vibeathon-winning app, developed under the guidance of Dr. Andrew Besmer.
The event was led by InnoVision board member and Treasurer John Blomberg of the SC Small Business Development Centers and sponsored by Carolina Tech Founders, in partnership with the Winthrop Region SBDC and Winthrop University.
From Prototype to Plant Floor Series Part 2 at SiMT
On September 23rd, InnoVision presented Part 2 of our From Prototype to Plant Floor series with an exclusive tour of SiMT, the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology, and a panel discussion of health care innovation: From Prototype to Patient, with DeGen Medical, GE Healthcare and the Zucker Institute at MUSC moderated by Will McLeod of McLeod Health. Thank you, SiMT!
Meet the Finalists - August 25th - The Palmetto Club - Columbia
Finalists for the 2026 InnoVision Awards formally announced at the exclusive Meet the Finalists reception on August 25th, sponsored by the South Carolina Research Authority-SCRA at The Palmetto Club in Columbia.
Read the release and Meet the Finalists here.
Award finalists will be honored and winners will be announced at the 28th Annual InnoVision Awards Celebration on November 5, 2026, at the Thornblade Club in Greer, South Carolina.
View snapshots from the event below.
From Prototype to Plant Floor Series Part 1: Michelin Earthmover Tires
From Prototype to Plant Floor: Michelin US10 Earthmover Tire Manufacturing Plant Floor Tour:
On August 12th, the InnoVision community got a firsthand look at what “manufacturing at scale” really means at an exclusive tour of Michelin‘s US10 Earthmover Tire Plant in Anderson, SC.
We’re talking tires over 13 feet tall and up to 5.5 tons built for the world’s largest mining trucks, wheel loaders, and earthmovers, and shipped through the Port of Charleston to more than 1,300 operations worldwide. Michelin has led this space for decades, introducing the mining industry’s first radial earthmover tire back in 1959, and continuing that legacy last year with the industry’s first radial tire built for the world’s largest wheel loader.
But it wasn’t just the size of the tires that was impressive. Equally, if not more impressive, was Michelin’s employee-driven innovation. Through Michelin’s DRIVE program, the people working the equipment every day are empowered to identify problems and build practical solutions around safety, efficiency, ergonomics, and reliability. That culture has earned international recognition, including a 2024 Ergo Excellence Award for Innovation for the plant’s “Pivot Swing Bolt Improvement” and a separate honor for its “Wireless Bobbin Lock Detection” solution.
Michelin US10 is manufacturing the future right here in South Carolina as they build some of the world’s largest tires while investing in people, innovation, and the environment.
Thank you to the entire Michelin team for opening your doors and showing us what innovation looks like on the plant floor!
Capital Connections: Providing Clarity for Founders @ Charleston Tech Week with Chucktown Startups
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!
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.
