While Universiti Sains Malaysia strives to become a globally competitive research university serving “billions”, there is limited targeted attention to the needs of the population within its region. But it is constrained by skills shortages and mismatches. There is a need to increase the relevance of education and its alignment with the regional labour market needs. Firms in Penang are being impeded in their R&D or produce/process development efforts by shortages of specialised skills.