The National University of Singapore has several initiatives to foster an entrepreneurial spirit among its students. Few weeks back, we spoke about this role of National University of Singapore in the startup ecosystem of Singapore through an interview with the director of the NUS Entrepreneurship Center. Here, we bring to you another interesting initiative by the NUS Enterprise (enterprise arm of NUS), the NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) Program, as part of which, students are sent to intern with Startups around the world. Professor Teo Chee Leong, Director of the NOC Programme spoke to us about the objective of the program, student take-aways and the challenges of organizing it.

1. NUS Overseas
Colleges
Program
Student’s React

2. Ariff Munshi
Stockholm, Sweden
January 2009 - December 2009
What influenced your choice of location?
The American economy wasn't doing very well at that
time and I was more interested in the European culture
and the innovation coming out of Sweden. I was
interested in clean tech, and Stockholm had more of
such companies under the program.
Which startup did you intern with?
QuickSolve AB, who were creating a ruby based CMS.
The company had to close down half way through.
Then I joined Biorecro AB - A
carbon mitigation company dealing with biofuels and
carbon capture and storage.
Describe the nature of your work?
I did lots of adhoc job and research for the company
including writing up text and designing collaterals.
What were the learnings?
What I learnt was more on how a startup works and
also the dynamics of working in a small team - within
the company and outside of work, where we got a
chance to be involved in courses, startup clubs and
meetups.
Have you worked in another market?
In Silicon Valley and Brunei.
How was it different?
Major differences in work culture and people's
personalities. You have to learn to adapt and work with
the different styles.
Ariff is the co-founder of startup,
Userscout in Singapore

3. Naman Shah
Philadelphia, USA
Jan 2013- Dec 2013
What influenced your choice of location?
I wanted to experience working in the US after my
stints in Asia. Philadelphia looked like a great
location with a awesome partner school like
UPenn.
Which startup did you intern with?
BizEquity, A SAAS based business valuation
startup with a good blend of finance and tech.
Describe the nature of your work?
I work as a Business Analyst. It is really like a
startup where you wear many hats right from HR to
marketing to web analytics but mainstay is data
analysis, helping with new clients and their
requirements, web analytics.
What were the learnings?
Work trumps talk. Startup is lot of hard work lot of
fun lot of passion. Your core values make you win.
Have you worked in another market?
India with E&Y, and a US based Startup called
Freshmentors in Singapore.
How was it different?
Very different from an MNC. Work environment is
less bureaucratic than India. More liberal.
Naman is currently in the US on the NOC program
and is looking forward to starting up a company
in the education sector.

4. Jay Teo Jun Kai
Israel
January 2013 - July 2013
What influenced your choice of location?
Israel is the startup nation and it has many
interesting technologies.
Which startup did you intern with?
Synergy Innovations Venture Capital
Describe the nature of your work?
Analyze startups for investment opportunities
What were the learnings?
What makes a VC fundable startup
Have you worked in another market?
Yes, in the US and Singapore
How was it different?
Singapore Startup scene is still being built up, fear
of failure still plagues the traditional asian culture.
US has a very mature startup ecosystem, it is easy
to find a network for support. Israel has that ‘go all
out to do it with aggression and with a never say no
spirit’.
Jay Teo is looking forward to returning
to Israel for work after completing his
education

5. Firdaus Alip
India
June 2013 - July 2013
What influenced your choice of location?
(a) Growing urban poor in India implied a growing
demand for the company’s product where I was
interning and, (b) Culture; Mumbai is culturally
diverse city with many migrants from all parts of
India.
Which startup did you intern with?
Svasti Microfinance
Describe the nature of your work?
Operational risk management, mitigating
operational risk through behavioral profiling
What were the learnings?
That it is very important to have a ‘plan B’ in case
‘plan A’ fails, always be prepared for a rainy day.
Have you worked in another market?
Yes, Singapore
How was it different?
Internships in Singapore are very fixed and small
scale – most of the time, extent of work will not
have any bearing on the company’s performance. In
India, you have a larger responsibility and the work
may influence the company’s performance.
Firdaus is looking at a job after the
internship, and in the long run he aspires to
be an entrepreneur

6. Jin Hui Ang
Silicon Valley
January 2013 - July 2013
What influenced your choice of location?
Silicon Valley is the ideal choice to intern at a high-
technology startup and take management science and
engineering courses at Stanford University.
Which startup did you intern with?
Visually, it is a one-stop shop for the creation of data
visualizations and infographics.
Describe the nature of your work?
I conceptualize and implement email & website
marketing, strategies to drive new customer engagement
and sales, lead generation, advertising analytics, social
media marketing etc.
What were the learnings?
The experience has sharpened my abilities to pay close
attention to the deliverables and tweaking marketing
campaigns to the exact target. Beyond that, I have learnt
to employ all possible combinations and learning from
each lesson.
Have you worked in another market?
I have worked in several other establishments.
How was it different?
Being in a startup has taught me to challenge the
unknown and be a part of something bigger. It’s more
than what the job asks so you need to have a sense of
ownership, responsibility and leadership for all your
actions. Working with limited resources is both
demanding and fulfilling and you can can have a direct
impact of the growth of the company.
Jin Hui is currently in the US on the NOC
Program and also serves as a digital media
consultant for a Singapore based Lifestyle
and Raw Foods Company

7. Jin Hui Ang
Silicon Valley
January 2013 - July 2013
What influenced your choice of location?
Silicon Valley is the ideal choice to intern at a high-
technology startup and take management science and
engineering courses at Stanford University.
Which startup did you intern with?
Visually, it is a one-stop shop for the creation of data
visualizations and infographics.
Describe the nature of your work?
I conceptualize and implement email & website
marketing, strategies to drive new customer engagement
and sales, lead generation, advertising analytics, social
media marketing etc.
What were the learnings?
The experience has sharpened my abilities to pay close
attention to the deliverables and tweaking marketing
campaigns to the exact target. Beyond that, I have learnt
to employ all possible combinations and learning from
each lesson.
Have you worked in another market?
I have worked in several other establishments.
How was it different?
Being in a startup has taught me to challenge the
unknown and be a part of something bigger. It’s more
than what the job asks so you need to have a sense of
ownership, responsibility and leadership for all your
actions. Working with limited resources is both
demanding and fulfilling and you can can have a direct
impact of the growth of the company.
Jin Hui is currently in the US on the NOC
Program and also serves as a digital media
consultant for a Singapore based Lifestyle
and Raw Foods Company