On September 21, President Naoshi Sugiyama of Nagoya University and President Tan Eng Chye of the National University of Singapore (NUS) signed a new agreement, strengthening ties between the two universities at the Higashiyama Campus of Nagoya University. This marks the beginning of collaboration on several new programs focused on entrepreneurship education and startup incubation. At the signing ceremony were Hideaki Ohmura, Aichi Prefecture Governor; representatives of Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, Sports and Technology (MEXT); and faculty members and staff from the two universities. Entrepreneurship education is a key part of the Nagoya University strategy. Later this year students will travel to Singapore to take advantage of the new agreements.
"Nagoya University is at the center of the industrial base of Japan", said President Tan. "I am confident that this collaboration will benefit both our universities, Aichi Prefecture and Singapore".
President Sugiyama added: "This is just the start of our relationship with NOC. We look forward to exchanging students between our universities to learn about entrepreneurship and startups."
President Sugiyama and President Tan after signing the agreement
Representatives of Nagoya University, National University of Singapore, Aichi Prefecture and MEXT at the ceremony
Professor Konishi of the Nagoya University Deep Tech Serial Innovation Center explains Nagoya University's entrepreneurship education program to Aichi Prefecture Governor Ohmura
Representatives of National University of Singapore in conversation with President Sugiyama and Chancellor Matsuo of THERS
National University of Singapore (NUS) launches its first NUS Overseas College (NOC) Japan entrepreneurial hub in Nagoya
Ranked 1st in Asia and 8th in the world (QS World University Rankings 2024), NUS will launch its first NUS Overseas College (NOC) Japan entrepreneurial hub in Nagoya. Under the MOU, NOC Nagoya programme will also be the first NOC location to offer internships to NUS PhD students.
The first NOC location was established in Silicon Valley in 2002, through collaboration with Stanford University. NUS has sent more than 4,000 students to its NOC locations globally. To date, NOC alumni have founded more than 1,100 start-ups. Two of these start-ups including Carousell and Patsnap have attained Unicorn status.
The opening ceremony was held at Nagoya University on 21 September. The event was attended by NUS senior leadership including Professor Tan Eng Chye, President of NUS, Professor Chen Tsuhan, Deputy President (Innovation & Enterprise) of NUS, Professor Chee Yeow Meng, Vice President (Innovation & Enterprise), Director of NUS Enterprise Academy and Director of NUS Overseas Colleges, and Associate Professor Benjamin Tee, Associate Vice President (Enterprise).
The event was also attended by CEOs of three Nagoya University startups, MAP IV, SyncMOF, and GRA&GREEN.
At Nagoya University, the Nagoya University Deep Tech Serial Innovation Center was opened in April 2023, establishing a university-wide system for entrepreneurship education. NUS and Nagoya University also plan to start the NOC inbound programme, where Nagoya University will send their undergraduate
students to Singapore, to learn about Singapore's start-up ecosystem and entrepreneurship.
Through a strong partnership with NUS, Nagoya University will lead the way in entrepreneurship education to nurture students who will take on challenges and play an active role in the world.