SC Celebrates Innovation Awareness Month 2026 with Exciting Events Across the State

SC Innovation Awareness Month 2026 is a month-long celebration of the state's innovative spirit, featuring events such as hackathons, tech talks, and networking opportunities to bring together innovators from all over the state. Click the link below to add your event to the page.

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SOLD OUT: IAM Kickoff Breakfast

April 1 

Kicking off Innovation Awareness Month with leaders in the state's innovation ecosystem.

This event is sold out.

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iMAGINE Upstate STEAM Festival

April 4 

The iMAGINE STEAM Festivals are designed to showcase PreK-12 education and career pathways in Science, Technology, Arts, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEAM) through fun, hands-on learning for families.

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MX.0 Southeast

ApriL 7-8

Showcases regional and national manufacturing excellence. THREE dedicated tracks featuring digital transformation case studies that drive manufacturing efficiency, enhance workforce engagement, and build resilient and sustainable supply chains.

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Nextgenworksop26

Understanding Term Sheets Workshop

ApriL 8

Join NextGEN and Cliff Holekamp, Managing Director & General Partner of Cultivation Capital, one of the most active early-stage venture capital firms in the United States. In this information-packed workshop, Cliff will guide us through a term sheet and decode for us what each part means for a founder. This will help you learn how to read a term sheet and understand what each part means for you and your company as a founder.

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TFNCola26

SCRA Tech Founders Night at Segra Park

ApriL 8

Join us for a night of baseball, networking, and community at Tech Founders Night as the Columbia Fireflies take on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans at Segra Field!

Whether you're in early-stage development or scaling your company, come enjoy great conversations, great food, and great baseball with us.

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Annual SC EPSCoR Conference

ApriL 10

This one-day conference is intended for faculty, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and STEM professionals. Promoting collaboration among South Carolina colleges and universities.

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CONNEX SC B2B Matchmaker

ApriL 14

Connect with S.C. manufacturers through 10-minute speed meetings - designed to spark real business opportunities! Open to all CONNEX SC-registered manufacturers at no cost.

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SCRA Startups on Tap – Upstate

ApriL 14

Join us for SCRA’s quarterly Startup on Tap Celebrations, hosted across the Lowcountry, Midlands, and Upstate. These events bring together South Carolina’s innovation community to highlight the progress, achievements, and growth happening across the state. 

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Grok '26

ApriL 15-17

Grok is an attendee-driven conference that blends inspiring expert talks with your voice. Grok is 5 world-class speakers talking about working for the biggest brands in the world, building biz large and small, creative direction, designing with code, making sense of data, and creating a life and work you love

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Aiken Founders Night

ApriL 16

Join the Aiken Chamber of Commerce and the South Carolina Research Authority for Founders Night, an evening designed to bring together entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders from across our community.

Whether you're building a startup, exploring a new idea, or simply interested in connecting with others who are shaping the future of business and technology in Aiken, this event offers a relaxed setting to share ideas and make meaningful connections.

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8th Annual Women in Industry Day

ApriL 17

Women in Industry began in 2019 through the leadership and vision of the Lowcountry Society of Women Engineers. Now in its sixth year, this dynamic conference is designed to connect professionals from industries across the Lowcountry.

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Fixmypitch26

Fix My Pitch Workshop Series: Messaging

April 21

In this Fix My Pitch workshop, Nathan Robinson from SHOWOFF will walk founders through the fundamentals of strong storytelling. Learn how to frame your problem, articulate your value, and connect the dots in a way that makes people lean in.

From problem and origin to traction and vision, you will learn how to structure your message in a way that feels clear, compelling, and memorable.

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Annual SCRA Summit

April 21-22

Save the date for the South Carolina Research Authority’s Annual Summit at the Columbia Convention Center April 21-22, 2026. The annual event that fosters and celebrates innovation in South Carolina. The theme is Made in SC, celebrating the hard work of founders who are growing our state’s innovation economy. 

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B2B26

SCRA Technology B2B Matchmaker Event

April 22

South Carolina Research Authority(SCRA) and the SC Department of Commerce are partnering to bring you the SC Technology B2B Matchmaker

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SCRA Startups on Tap – Lowcountry

April 28

Join us for SCRA’s quarterly Startup on Tap Celebrations, hosted across the Lowcountry, Midlands, and Upstate. These events bring together South Carolina’s innovation community to highlight the progress, achievements, and growth happening across the state.

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