UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA*

Their core work

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is a major Malaysian research university based in Penang that contributes specialized expertise to European research networks through staff exchange programmes. Their H2020 involvement spans biomaterials and medical implant surfaces, nanomedicine and bioimaging, speech and language AI, and project management methodologies. As a third-party contributor in MSCA-RISE mobility schemes, they provide non-European research perspectives and laboratory capabilities to international consortia working on advanced materials, NLP, and healthcare technologies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

USM's early H2020 engagement (2017–2020) combined project management research with biomaterials for medical applications — two quite distinct domains reflecting the university's breadth. From 2021 onward, a clear digital and AI thread emerged through speech processing and NLP work, while the biomedical side deepened into nanomedicine and advanced microscopy. The shift suggests USM is expanding from purely materials-focused health research toward computational and AI-driven approaches alongside their established biomedical strengths.

USM is diversifying from materials science toward AI/NLP and advanced imaging, making them increasingly relevant for interdisciplinary projects combining computation with biomedical applications.

How they like to work

USM participates exclusively as a third-party entity in MSCA-RISE staff exchange projects, meaning they are linked through a direct project partner rather than being a formal consortium member. Despite this indirect role, they have connected with 52 unique partners across 23 countries, indicating they are embedded in broad international mobility networks. This pattern suggests USM is a reliable exchange destination that European consortia value for providing non-EU research expertise and facilities.

Through 4 MSCA-RISE projects, USM has connected with 52 distinct partners across 23 countries — a remarkably wide network for their participation level, reflecting the large multi-partner nature of RISE mobility consortia. Their reach spans well beyond Southeast Asia into extensive European collaboration.

What sets them apart

USM offers something rare in H2020 networks: a well-established Southeast Asian research university with dual strengths in biomedical materials and emerging AI/NLP capabilities, accessible through mobility programmes. For consortium builders, USM provides a gateway to Malaysian research infrastructure and talent — valuable for projects requiring global validation, tropical-climate testing, or non-European language resources. Their consistent participation across multiple RISE projects signals institutional commitment to European collaboration, not just one-off involvement.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Bio-TUNE
  Addresses the high-value intersection of biosensing, antibacterial surfaces, and smart coatings for medical implants — directly relevant to the growing medtech industry.
• ESPERANTO
  Tackles low-resource language NLP and explainable AI for speech — areas of increasing strategic importance, and where Malaysian linguistic diversity adds unique value.
• Micro4Nano
  Combines microfluidics with nanocarriers for advanced bioimaging — a technically demanding convergence of nanotechnology and microscopy with clear diagnostic applications.