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Ecoplosion can ignite Upstate economy

Summit conceived as opportunity to engage students, businesses and municipalities by Jenny Munro | jmunro@greenvillenews.com 12:36 PM, Jan. 26, 2012 Four years ago, as unexpected and unmitigated events pushed the national economy to the brink of free fall, business leaders, politicians, and the public alike stood facing the fear of financial collapse. In subsequent years, the struggle to control and restore order to our financial institutions, government budgets and international partnerships has crippled our confidence and our progress. Still, as we look forward to 2012, the Upstate cannot wait for our outlook to improve. Business and community leaders must work to turn uncertainty into opportunity -- addressing challenges while engaging opportunities for growth. In our evolving marketplace, we must discover new avenues through innovative thinking, collaboration and pro-growth policies. The modern growth economy is fueled by disruptive innovation, in which ideas have become a new global currency. As growth shifts toward knowledge economies, regional progress cannot be made through hourly manufacturing alone -- but through forward-thinking ideas, intelligent infrastructure and the encouragement of local human potential. By targeting emerging growth sectors like energy and green technology, biosciences and health care, and advanced materials, South Carolina can empower, innovate and create our way toward a forward-thinking ecosystem that fosters educational achievement and retains top talent. Altering our perspective to promote an offensive strategy, the Upstate can create partnerships that bridge entrepreneurial innovation, real estate development and sustained economic growth initiatives. Recognizing that opportunity, the Arthur M. Spiro Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership and the Richard H. Pennell Center for Real Estate Development at Clemson, have partnered with Upstate leaders to ignite an economic explosion while building the foundations for continued collaboration and sustained creativity. Planned for Thursday, Jan. 26, Ecoplosion is a regional summit designed to inspire growth through discussions on entrepreneurship, real estate and economic development. Held at the Campbell Graduate Engineering Center on the CU-ICAR campus, the summit will feature a keynote presentation by Gov. Nikki Haley, and a series of three targeted panel discussions featuring key business and community leaders. Ecoplosion was conceived as an opportunity to engage students, businesses and municipalities as the Upstate works to build links between entrepreneurship, development, and growth. Through discussions and new connections fostered by Ecoplosion, we hope to reinvigorate progress toward a pro-job, pro-growth environment that connects people, ideas and resources in a way that moves the Upstate forward. The summit will provide access to ideas and knowledge that have shaped and continue to shape the Upstate economy. For more information on Ecoplosion, panel topics, and speakers please visit www.clemson.edu/cred. Community members are encouraged to use #ecoplosion to submit questions for discussion via Twitter. * This blog post was featured as an OP-ED article in the Greenville News. To read the article online, CLICK HERE.

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