Silicon Valley is the name given to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, located in California, USA. It is home to many of the world's largest high-tech corporations, as well as thousands of tech startup companies, serving as a global centre for high technology, innovation and social media.
NOC Silicon Valley is a full year programme, esteemed and challenging for our students. Apart from interning and networking with movers and shakers in the tech community, students also take entrepreneurship-related courses at Stanford University, one of the world's leading research and teaching institutions located right in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Student Testimonials
Varun Ramnarayan
NOC Silicon Valley Alumna | Batch 41_Jan 2022, College of Design and Engineering | Mechanical Engineering | Co-Founder of OnSight
In my yearlong stint in Silicon Valley, I had the pleasure of being part of a team developing disruptive technologies in the medical technology space. Working alongside the best in the industry and in a global innovation hub enabled me to broaden my capabilities and hone skillsets that are essential to the success of a deep tech startup. I am glad that I had the opportunity to directly impact the lives of many patients.
Alongside work, I enrolled in a few modules at Stanford. I was able to work closely with the students to develop ideas and gain critical perspectives on global entrepreneurship and innovation trends. I also seized the moment and immersed myself in the culture of those that call the Bay Area their home. I have had a remarkable time learning about practices in different parts of the world and growing my network!
All in all, the NOC experience has been exceptional in enabling me to step outside my comfort zone to grow as a young innovator and soon-to-be entrepreneur!
Talagadadivi Durga Rukmini Manaswini
NOC Silicon Valley Alumna | Batch 39_Jan 2021, Faculty of Engineering | Computer Engineering
Getting to be a part of the NOC Silicon Valley programme was truly a shaping experience for me. It gave me the opportunity to be immersed in an ecosystem that emphasized on technological innovation and entrepreneurship - something that I have always wanted to be a part of. Being able to work in a fast-growing tech start-up with some of the most passionate individuals had not just helped me develop technical skills but also be inspired by their vision and their effort to bring ideas into reality. Simultaneously being able to take entrepreneurial modules, participating in events and competitions, and getting to work on our ideas during this programme were definitely challenging but had given me valuable lessons and a holistic experience. Although the first 10 months of this programme were remote, it never took away from what NOC Silicon Valley strived to provide. Actually going there in the last 2 months and to be surrounded by the culture of Silicon Valley had indeed made this experience even more memorable and fruitful. The programme introduced me to wonderful individuals/friends, allowed me to better discover my passion, helped me dive deep into the start-up world and just grew as an individual!
Hans Sebastian Mulyawan
NOC Silicon Valley Alumnus | Batch 39_Jan 2021, Faculty of Engineering | Industrial & Sys Eng (Hons)
Silicon Valley has always been the go-to ecosystem for any aspiring startup founders, including me. Ever since I knew about NOC Silicon Valley, I had always aimed to be a part of it and had high expectations of how the program would shape me as an entrepreneur. Although Silicon Valley is most well-known for its tech ecosystem, as a generalist I was fortunate enough not to be disheartened by it, allowing me to work in a US-based venture capital firm and be exposed to diverse industries. Looking back, it was the combination of the internship company, well-structured program modules, inspiring partner university, and ambitious fellow students that made the NOC experience exceptional and memorable. NOC also gave me the opportunity of a lifetime, not only to delve into entrepreneurship but also to reach a deeper level of self-discovery. Ultimately, I am most grateful that all these learnings and support from NUS Enterprise have encouraged me to work on achieving my dream - to build my own startup. It is fair to say that NOC has not only met my expectations but far exceeded it.
Alvin Ryanputra
NOC Silicon Valley Alumnus | Batch 38_July 2020, Faculty of Engineering | Mechanical Engineering
My dream of experiencing life in the Silicon Valley was unfortunately dashed due to the COVID-19 pandemic - but I knew that there were still opportunities for growth even in a remote setting. I participated in the Plug and Pay University Program and interned in a US-based venture capital firm, both of which gave me tremendous insights into the world of startups and startup funding. I had extensive exposure to startups working on frontier technologies, and had the unique experience of sitting on the investor's side of the table and evaluating potential startup investments. Together with the other entrepreneurship modules by NOC (and one with Stanford), I had a well-rounded, hands-on entrepreneurial journey and I've never been more ready to pursue my aspirations of founding my own startup!
Jerome Wong
NOC Silicon Valley Alumnus | Batch 36_July 2019, Faculty of Engineering | Biomedical Engineering
Being on the NOC Silicon Valley program is a dream come true. Heading to the heart of where entrepreneurship started also meant demystifying many of the romanticism that the place has imbued into the idea of start-ups. Many say that once you peeked behind the curtain, the veil of wonder would be lifted. That is definitely not true in my NOC experience. If anything, it only made me fall in love with entrepreneurship even more. I believe my experience has enhanced my understanding of what it takes to create a world-class start-up culture and brought more reality and personal stories to internalise the idea of doing one. This is the real deal and undoubtedly, the highlight of my undergraduate life in NUS.
Audrey Wong
NOC Silicon Valley Alumna | Batch 35_January 2019, Faculty of Engineering | Materials Science & Engineering
Having always had a deep interest in innovation and entrepreneurship, I knew I wanted to gain more experience in the startup scene. Midway through the programme, the culture and people in Silicon Valley had already left me in awe, and I had gained more knowledge and experience than I could ever imagine. I was amazed at how the startups here have a never-ending thirst for innovation and a mindset that embrace failure. Working in a startup, I not only learnt to deepen my technical skills, but also had the opportunity to work closely with the founders and learn more about their various experiences in building a successful startup. I am excited for the rest of my time here and can’t wait to bring my experiences back to Singapore!
K Muruges
NOC Silicon Valley Alumnus | Batch 34_August 2018, School of Computing | Computer Science
Personally, I knew close to nothing about entrepreneurship before embarking on the NOC program. It was the opportunity to be able to work in a startup and learn from some of the very best in the world in Silicon Valley that was most enticing for me. However, upon reaching there and starting to mingle with peers and colleagues, their enthusiasm for entrepreneurship began to rub off on me and I too started to think of potential startup ideas all the time. During my one year I have become much more proficient from a technical standpoint, learnt about what makes a great startup tick from the inside and formed many connections with people in Silicon Valley and Singapore. I was constantly busy, either with work from Stanford or from NUS, but being able to deal with all these things had made me infinitely more resilient and I definitely did learn a lot more this way. What I would say is this - what and how much you take out of this journey, should you choose to embark on it, solely depends on how much time and effort you are willing to put in. As for me, I can safely say that it has been one of the most memorable experiences in my life so far and what I have learnt will definitely serve me well heading into the future.
Auston Quek
NOC Silicon Valley Alumnus | Batch 34_August 2018, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences | Communications & New Media
This one year in Silicon Valley opened my eyes, deep diving into the start-up scene, learning the know-hows, working alongside and interacting with the best entrepreneurs at the heart of tech. The start-up experience was life changing and very very exciting! I was given the chance to learn entirely new skills in the booming space of hiring such as - B2B SaaS sales, growth and marketing. This exciting year allowed me to work on tasks that matter, succeeding in some but also failing in some, and through these, learned skills and many life lessons. I met many interesting people, made new friends, attended tons of cool events and most importantly, grew up. This one year helped me better understand how the world works and also helped me better understand myself and where my passion lies. This year on NOC is by far the best one of my university life, and the most meaningful one. I am thankful, and excited for what is to come!