Ivelina Metcheva, assistant vice president for innovation at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and head of its TechTransfer and Ventures office, joins a two-week Fulbright International Education Administrators seminar in India beginning Oct. 3rd. The program places U.S. higher education leaders inside the country’s universities, research institutions and academic system.

Metcheva plans to strengthen VCU’s ties with Indian institutions, including Ahmedabad University, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and Kharagpur, and Gujarat Technological University. She will seek joint research, pair faculty with Indian scientists and explore partnerships that carry lab discoveries to market.

Image: Virginia Commonwealth University

The following is an excerpt from an article by Robert Lowe in the latest issue of TechInsight.

Ask a technology transfer professional what keeps them up at night, and the answer isn’t shifting federal funding priorities, artificial intelligence, or even the perennial gripe about faculty who won’t disclose their inventions. It’s simpler, and thornier: finding and keeping people to do the work.

Unlike our last survey, this year’s results are reflecting more than lack of hiring budgets for needed staff. Concerns now extend to poor leadership in the director’s seat.

That’s the headline finding from TechPipeline’s 2026 Survey of Technology Transfer Practices, Policies, and Metrics (“Practices and Policies Survey”), which polled 150+ technology transfer offices across the U.S. and abroad, drawing responses from directors and front-line staff alike.

This article presents a summary of results from the most recent Practices and Policies Survey focused on questions of the biggest challenges faced by offices in 2026. This year’s results showed some similarities to the 2024 survey, but two years seems to have made a difference in our industry with new challenges emerging.

Staffing Still #1, but Not as Concerning

When asked to name their office’s single biggest challenge, hiring and staffing ran away with the top spot—cited by 43% of respondents at non-U.S. institutions and 38% of those at U.S. institutions. No other category came close. Budget pressure trailed at a distant second, at 26% and 23%, respectively.

The number of open positions posted in 2026 is noticeably higher. Yet in 2024, almost 50% of respondents cited hiring and staffing as the biggest challenge. This was a statistically significant decrease in the top challenge offices cited.

This complete article is available to TechInsight subscribers here.

TechInsight is a monthly newsletter bringing you in-depth articles on technology transfer and corporate engagement concepts and issues. Subscribe today →

George Mason University launches the Virginia Quantum Hub (VQH), a public–private initiative anchored by the National Capital Region’s first open-architecture quantum computing system. England-based TreQ has designed the system and will deploy and operate it. The university holds approval, pending final award, for a GO Virginia (Growth and Opportunity for Virginia) grant supporting K–12 (kindergarten through 12th grade) and employer training, lab buildout and partnership operations.

Founding partners and strategic investors include the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC), Connected DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia), Leidos, Aliro Quantum, Boeing, Booz Allen, MITRE, IonQ, Marymount University and Northern Virginia Community College. The hub offers shared hardware, including a cryogenic lab and quantum optics facility, a workforce pipeline and an industry–government–academia program for technology development.

The hub builds on eight years of work by George Mason’s Quantum Science and Engineering Center. A $2.4 million investment adds six postdoctoral and three faculty positions. The university signs a memorandum of understanding with two Korean quantum organizations.

Image: George Mason University

TechPipeline hosted three webinars over the summer exploring very different challenges facing technology transfer offices—from integrating new tools into TTO workflows to communicating value to institutional leadership and navigating the sometimes competing priorities of TTOs, founders, and investors. If you missed the live discussions, all three are now available on demand.

JUNE 2026
Strategic Tool Integration to Streamline Your Tech Transfer Operations

AI, CRM platforms, reporting tools, data visualization—there are more options than ever for improving TTO operations, but adding technology doesn’t necessarily make the work easier. This program looks at how offices are choosing and integrating tools that improve workflows, reduce errors, and create capacity without overwhelming their teams.

Watch Strategic Tool Integration on demand

JULY 2026
Managing Up: Communicating Tech Transfer Value to Institutional Leadership

Your TTO may be collecting plenty of data—but is it telling institutional leadership the right story? This discussion explores how technology transfer offices can translate their work and impact into terms that resonate with university executives and other institutional decision-makers.

Watch Managing Up on demand

AUGUST 2026
Aligned Interests? Navigating the Gaps in the Commercialization Journey

TTOs, founders, and investors may ultimately want the same thing—a successful technology—but they don’t always approach the journey with the same priorities. This conversation brings together perspectives from across the commercialization ecosystem to explore where interests align, where they diverge, and how those differences can be navigated.

Watch Aligned Interests on demand

The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is launching an incubator, approved by its Board of Trustees on September 25th, to support new life sciences and medical technology companies. Located at 3343 Forbes Ave. in the Oakland neighborhood, the facility will provide wet lab, maker-space and office areas plus scientific equipment.

Pitt is funding the renovation, furnishings, and equipment and is in discussions with Wexford Science and Technology to develop the site and operate it through Wexford’s Connect Labs team, which will offer programming to build a founder community.

The incubator fills a gap in support for companies not yet ready to scale. Pitt, ranked seventh in National Institutes of Health funding, already hosts The Assembly and BioForge, hubs focused on scaling innovation. The Oakland site puts founders minutes from university labs, clinical facilities and major hospitals.

Megan Shaw, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Alliance, says infrastructure supporting translation and company growth is critical to the region’s ecosystem.

Image: The University of Pittsburgh

Dvash Group and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announce a partnership to create a $50 million venture capital fund targeting deep technology, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and dual-use technologies, which serve both civilian and defense markets. The fund invests in start-ups emerging from university research, companies founded by alumni, and deep-tech ventures across Israel.

Dvash Group, a family-owned investment firm led by Yoram Dvash, manages the fund. Yissum, the university’s technology transfer company, represents Hebrew University on fund matters, links the fund with faculty, labs, students, and postdoctoral fellows, and flags research with commercial promise, sometimes before a company forms. The fund operates privately, with its management making investment decisions independently, which allows it to invest beyond the university.

The university’s research has contributed to Mobileye, the cancer drug Doxil, and the Alzheimer’s treatment Exelon. As of September 27, 2026, the partners have not disclosed fundraising commitments, a first closing date, or an investment timeline; $50 million is the planned fund size.

Image: Hebrew University of Jerusalem

TechPipeline provides recruiting and job listing services for the tech transfer and corporate relations community, helping institutions find talent and professionals discover new opportunities.

This week’s job listings

• Texas A&M: Director of Licensing – Physical Sciences and Engineering
• The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley: Technology Licensing Associate
• Ohio State University: Licensing Officer

Click here to post your open position or learn more.