The submission period is open for the 2026 INNOVATE: Pitches with a Purpose Student Pitch Competition. There are opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs to participate as a judge or become a sponsor.
This is the seventh year for the event, sponsored by Augusta University in partnership with the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (GCITC) and VA (Veterans Affairs) Augusta Health Care.
“First round submission will actually be due February 6, and that is just the ideation phase. We just need five slides of the idea of the problem that they’re trying to solve, the impact of that solution,” Director of Innovation Lynsey Steinberg explained for ABD, adding it can solve any problem competitors have identified in the Augusta area.
“Could be health-related, could be cyber-related technology solutions. Whatever idea they’re trying to solve, or whatever problem they’re trying to solve. So, doing the appropriate market research, working with our local partners, to see what resources are already available and meeting the needs of the challenges of our communities,” she said.
The deadline to submit proposals is March 10th. After the submissions are received, there will be a session with judges to review the proposals and cull them to create the ideas that will move to the next step.
“Then the students who have been identified, the top teams, will be given a mentor,” said Steinberg. “They will receive an external community entrepreneur who will want to mentor and guide them, leading up to the final competition.”
The competition was created in 2019 to find solutions for a 15-year-old girl named Emma with a colostomy bag. This annual pitch competition is a 5-minute platform for teams to pitch their ideas to address challenges and improve our community.
Past submissions have come from Augusta University students, both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The top three proposals in each group receive cash awards of $5,000, $3,500, and $2,500.
Last year’s competition included a category for community entrepreneurs. Steinberg said they would like to add it again this year, but need a sponsor for the 2026 Entrepreneur Award. She said last year’s winner of the Entrepreneur Award has become a familiar face in Augusta. Shaun Edwards is now the Executive Director of Accelerate Augusta, the microenterprise incubator at 600 Broad Street.
Judges are lined up, but Steinberg said they are always looking to grow their network of community entrepreneurs, of individuals who want to mentor or be a judge.
“Typically, it’s the people who believe in what we believe in, who want to join our cause and our efforts, and they are a part of this process. Most of our judges are either venture capital or community entrepreneurs, individuals who truly believe in wanting to see us solve problems for the benefit of community success,” said Steinberg.
The public is invited to attend the pitch competition. It will be March 25, 2026, at GCITC beginning at 8:00 a.m. Local winners will advance to the USG (University System of Georgia) Pitch Competition April 6-7 at Kennesaw State University.
To learn more or submit proposals, go to: www.augusta.edu/strategic-partnerships-economic-development/innovate-pitch-competition/index.php
Or e-mail innovate@augusta.edu for more information or to volunteer.
