Since 2018, IDEA Week has offered the South Bend-Elkhart region a week of innovation, opportunity and entertainment that has become a must-see event for anyone involved or interested in the latest innovations coming out of the University of Notre Dame and the surrounding region.  

This year, for the first time, the event widens its reach beyond North Central Indiana to Indianapolis, adding TechPoint’s Mira Awards gala on April 22 to its impressive line-up.  

“Heartland Ventures and Startup South Bend are nominees in the Entrepreneurial Service Excellence Award category, and celebrating their success fits very well into IDEA week,” said Kelley Rich, interim vice president and associate provost for innovation at the IDEA Center at the University of Notre Dame. “The Awards gala will be a spectacular bookend to the week.”  

IDEA Week is an innovation festival hosting business, technology, and entertainment events to provide entrepreneurs, students, and attendees with the practical knowledge, creative inspiration, and social foundation they need to innovate within their own careers, studies, and communities. It is hosted by the University of Notre Dame, the South Bend-Elkhart region and various community organizations and businesses. All of the events, scheduled between April 15 and 22, are open to the public. All but the Mira awards gala are at sites on the university campus and locations throughout South Bend and Elkhart.   

TechPoint President and CEO Ting Gootee, who has attended IDEA Week since its launch, said she hopes to see more attention on innovation throughout the state.  

“Digital innovation is thriving across Indiana, and the Mira Awards are the premier innovation awards platform for our state,” she said. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to shine a brighter light on what’s happening in the Notre Dame innovation ecosystem and in that region. The opportunity to do that this year, and perhaps in even greater scope in the future, is truly exciting.”