Our Story
The history of NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) began way back in 2001, when NUS signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Stanford University for students to intern at Stanford-affiliated technological start-ups – which was launched by the former NUS President, Professor Shih Choon Fong.
The first college was hence established in Silicon Valley, the epitome of extraordinary innovation and entrepreneurship. The first batch of 14 NOC students arrived in Silicon Valley in 2002.
With the success of the first NUS Overseas College, subsequent colleges were set up in Philadelphia - Bio Valley*, Shanghai, Stockholm, and many more.
With the rise of entrepreneurship in Singapore, in January 2008, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre (NEC) launched the innovative Local Enterprise Achiever Development (iLEAD) programme to offer NUS students the opportunity to intern at local start-up companies and be exposed to the entrepreneurial challenges in Singapore. The iLEAD programme was subsequently subsumed under the NOC office in 2010, and was renamed to NOC Singapore in 2015.
During that time, more colleges opened in India*, Beijing, Israel and New York.
In 2016, NOC set up in Munich and Lausanne*, cities with strong deep tech culture – to provide technical students with the opportunities to intern at deep tech start-ups (based on true technological innovation or scientific discovery). The programme targeted post-graduate students with deeper technical knowledge, and the first 6 students embarked on the programme in January 2017.
2018 kicked off with the expansion of NOC to Toronto and Southeast Asia. The Southeast Asia programme is a three-month internship that seeks to introduce students to the dynamic economies of Southeast Asia and expose them to start-ups in areas such as agricultural technology, social enterprise, e-commerce and more.
In 2019, NOC Shenzhen was introduced to give students the opportunity and exposure to the Start-up City of China, once dubbed as the manufacturing hub of the world.
What’s next in the story of NOC? Stay tuned for more!
*NOC Bio Valley, NOC India and NOC Lausanne have ceased operations
Your Experience, Your Choice
The NOC programme have over 20 leading entrepreneurial hotspots across the globe - Beijing, Vietnam, Israel, Indonesia (a few cities), Munich, Japan, New York, Shanghai, The Greater Bay Area, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Stockholm and Toronto-Waterloo. Get more opportunities and options to experience life at start-ups around the world. Choose to spend a full year or half year with the programme - you get to decide what's best for you! NOC are opening more opportunities to other entrepreneurial hotspots and locations soon! Do watch out for them!
Click on each location below to find out more!
Full Year Programmes (For Undergraduates)
Feel the buzz of creative energy and experience the rollercoaster ride of emotions as companies are founded, bought and sold. Our one-of-a-kind full year internship programme places interns in dynamic entrepreneurial hubs around the world. Take classes at prestigious universities. Interact with famous start-up founders, angel investors and other inspiring role models to learn the secrets of their success.
Short Programmes
Transform your mindset. Get a short but intense immersion in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Israel, Munich, Paris, Norway, Japan, The Greater Bay Area, Chongqing and Singapore. Experience life at a start-up and discover exciting opportunities.
For Undergraduates
For Undergraduates & Postgraduates
