Founded in 2005, the Society of Innovators’ mission has remained simple: help drive entrepreneurship and innovation in Northwest Indiana by shining a spotlight on our region’s innovators. During the past 20 years, the Society has inducted hundreds of individuals, helping reinforce the narrative that Northwest Indiana is a place where innovation and ingenuity thrive.
In 2017, the Society partnered with Purdue University Northwest (PNW) to further our mission. As a premier metropolitan university, PNW is committed to enhancing Northwest Indiana economically and socially through community partnerships and bringing organizations like the Society into the University.
The Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest continues to champion innovation in Northwest Indiana by identifying and recognizing people and organizations for their innovative work and advocacy across our region. By bringing attention to these innovators through the annual Innovators Awards, the Society is encouraging more people to take innovative leaps in their own areas of expertise.
Many innovators have been recognized by the Society and some have even reached the level of “Lifetime Achievement.” The 2024 recipient of the Society’s John H. Davies Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes Dr. Barbara Eason-Watkins, retired superintendent of Michigan City Area Schools (MCAS), for her work to incorporate entrepreneurship and innovation into the school district’s culture and initiatives. Under her leadership, MCAS has had several innovation initiatives recognized by the Society including the development of the Compressed Air Academy industry collaboration, the school district’s Broadband Initiative, and launching the NIPSCO Energy Academy, Indiana’s first STEM public elementary school at the time. Dr. Eason-Watkins was also recognized as a Society of Innovators Fellow in 2016 for her innovative leadership.
In recent years, youth entrepreneurship and innovation has thrived in Indiana. The Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest helped Northwest Indiana take an early lead in this effort, which is a major initiative of the Society today. Through a $500,000 Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grant, the Society has launched multiple initiatives focused on bringing youth into the innovation ecosystem in Northwest Indiana.
The Society is the regional sponsor and host for Innovate WithIN, the largest high school business pitch competition in the county. Participation in the region has doubled since 2021 with over 500 Northwest Indiana students applying for the competition in 2024 and several teams placing at the state finals in recent years.
In 2023, the Society formed a Youth Innovation Advisory Council that meets with area high school teachers, community leaders and other youth entrepreneurship organizations to explore new regionwide collaborations to support Northwest Indiana’s students.
Looking into the future, the Society is excited to launch several initiatives to support young innovators – the development of a mentorship platform to pair Society members with young innovators, the start-up of a regional business plan competition to coordinate with Innovate WithIN, and the development of an online video-based learning platform to augment entrepreneurship education across the region.
For the past 20 years, the Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest has contributed to economic and community development as the champion of entrepreneurship in Northwest Indiana. The expanded work of the Society to encourage and support youth in our region to innovate will serve as a pillar of future economic development in Northwest Indiana for many more years to come.
For more information, visit pnw.edu/soi.
