Last Wednesday, researchers and inventors from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha gathered for the 2026 Innovation Awards. Among the award recipients advancing new medical solutions and discovering scientific breakthroughs for keeping the world safe and healthy, the SPN team received recognition for writing about this work.

UNeMed President and CEO Michael Dixon awarded SPN as Innovation Champion of the Year. This award recognizes community members who help play a role in the development of university-affiliated inventions and companies.

Dixon spoke on SPN’s commitment to covering the state’s startup ecosystem independently and accurately, as well as the significance of the publication for being able to spread the word of innovators in Nebraska. He said these entrepreneurs and builders might otherwise go unnoticed or likely not have the bandwidth to share their stories themselves.

“When SPN covers a funding round, it says something about the entire community, not just that company,” Dixon said. “Many startup communities have no outlet like SPN, and Nebraska is fortunate to have them.”

SPN wanted to take the time to thank UNeMed for this award and to give thanks to Nebraska’s wider startup and innovation ecosystem. The publication cannot happen without the willingness of founders and community members to invite reporters into their spaces and hear about their individual journeys.

You can listen to SPN reporter Ben Goeser’s acceptance speech at the Innovation Awards embedded below. The entire team also provided takeaways and reflections following the event on their experiences in the community and working for SPN.

Team Takeaways

Lev

During the Innovation Awards, Dixon talked about learning from Nebraska’s agtech scene to create an ecosystem for medtech. I realized that over the last year and a half, I’ve had the privilege of writing the first draft of history about that trend.

Dixon called out The Combine, the agtech startup incubator program in Lincoln that supercharged the agtech ecosystem in just seven years.

That was part of the inspiration for the Steel Works Health Accelerator, the public-private effort to help medtech startups succeed. I covered the launch of Steel Works earlier this year — while also shading in its larger context, the changes in university-industry relations, with other stories.

As these efforts grow, it’ll be exciting to see what the Nebraska medtech ecosystem is like seven years from now. If The Combine is any indication, the state has a lot to look forward to.

Ben

It felt a bit strange standing on stage at the Scott Conference Center on UNO’s campus — not just because I am a UNO alumnus or that I had invited my parents to the Innovation Awards.

To me, it was a bit strange to be honored the same night as those with celebrated careers fighting diseases or inventing tools and equipment for improving society as a whole. I felt a similar way earlier in October when invited to the release of nonprofit Open Range’s book highlighting Nebraska startup founders and the ecosystem’s history. The book features original reporting by SPN that Open Range edited and adapted for the text.

While I am honored to be recognized with my team for our coverage, I want to emphasize that I believe the impressive work is of the builders wanting to solve problems and make the world a better place. I am always blown away about what kinds of solutions and advancements are coming out of my home state, especially when coming from my old stomping grounds or minds younger than me.

Thank you for making me proud to be from Nebraska and thank you for giving me the chance to make my parents a little prouder of me — beyond showcasing my recent ability to tie a tie. You can even see the photo my dad took at the event below.

Jen

As the behind-the-scenes member of the SPN team, being honored by UNeMed at the 2026 Innovation Awards was a thrill. I drove home from the event with a big, silly grin on my face. I’m so proud of our little team!

Beyond creating design and social media content for SPN, I love to read the latest from Ben and Lev before posting their stories on our website. I was especially intrigued by a recent story from Lev about an AI transcription app that summarizes patient voice notes on their complicated feelings of pain for busy medical practitioners. Both from acting as caretaker to two ailing parents and enduring my own chronic pain, I happen to know my way around the challenging nuances of a 1-10 pain scale.

I also related to Voice-It Founder and CEO Marcia Shade and her heartbreaking experience during the difficult final years of her grandmother’s life. It was a struggle that could have potentially been eased by a tool like Voice-It’s core product, PAINChat.

It has been an honor working at SPN with Ben and Lev to help broadcast the journey of Nebraska entrepreneurship and innovation, especially when the startups we cover have sprouted right here in Omaha — my hometown.

Storytelling is ultimately about people and community. And the innovations coming out of the University of Nebraska System aim to improve the lives of people and communities who need it most. Thank you for letting us share those stories.