Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is the second public university established in Malaysia in 1969 and was first known as Universiti Pulau Pinang. Started from an enrolment of 57 science based students, USM has grown and expanded, offering undergraduate and postgraduate programmes to 20,000 students locally and internationally. USM consists of three campuses, the main campus in the island of Penang, an engineering campus at Nibong Tebal, Penang and a health campus at Kubang Kerian, Kelantan. USM has 24 schools and 26 research centres for undergraduates and postgraduates to further their studies and researches. 

Chosen as the APEX university by the Ministry of Higher Education as the university with the most potential for excellence in innovation and research, USM continues to live up to its promise by delivering on groundbreaking research, sustainable facilities and long-term innovative plans. Their dedication to quality has earned them Malaysian Qualifications Agency verification status for their programmes, while their research has brought them into partnership with companies like Audi, MAKNA, MIROS and universities from the United Arab Emirates. Research is taken very seriously here, where the rights of researchers are zealously protected through the filing of patents and the creation of several spin-off companies under USM that were established to further the university’s presence and ability in research and innovation.

In September 2020, USM has joined forces with Skymind Holdings Berhad (Skymind) to embrace the shift towards digital transformation. These projects includes an internship programme under Skymind for a duration of six months to cater to the shortage of talents in the AI industry, Train-the-Trainer programme for qualified USM lecturers as certified deep-learning trainers, and introducing AI as part of the USM curriculum courses.