NTU to launch new honours college in August with 500 students in first intake

SINGAPORE – A new undergraduate college at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will take in its first batch of about 500 students from August.

The first intake for the NTU Honours College, which caters to high-potential students, will comprise those enrolled in the university’s signature programmes, said NTU on May 13.

These include programmes such as the C.N. Yang Scholars Programme, the Renaissance Engineering Programme, and the University Scholars Programme.

New students from other degree courses with a willingness to serve others and strong academic performance by the end of their first year will also be encouraged to apply to the college from their second year.

Students in the NTU Honours College remain enrolled in their respective schools or faculties, such as engineering, business or science, but will take on new hands-on modules that cut across disciplines, on top of the curricula of their own programmes.

The new college’s curriculum focuses on using technology for good and equipping students with skills like entrepreneurship and leadership, said NTU.

Students will also have interdisciplinary learning experiences, including a Tech for Good service learning course where they will work in teams to develop tech-driven solutions to address societal needs.

There will also be a venture creation programme with funding of up to $100,000 to potentially turn ideas into business ventures, and the opportunity to organise a regional symposium modelled after the St Gallen Symposium.

Upon graduation, students will receive an NTU Honours College certificate on top of their degree certificate.

NTU president Ho Teck Hua said the new college aims to “nurture game changers who are driven to create a better world”.

He added: “Its curriculum sparks intellectual curiosity, fosters a spirit of service, and challenges our students to turn ideas into action.”

NTU’s latest move comes after the National University of Singapore’s setting up of NUS College (NUSC), a result of the merger between Yale-NUS College and NUS’ University Scholars Programme.

NUSC is an honours college where high-achieving students can access a more rigorous education.

Students there undergo a broad-based interdisciplinary curriculum, residential life programme and flagship Global Pathways programme alongside their major studies.

The college took in its first batch of 400 students in August 2022.

These students, while still belonging to a home college, faculty or school in NUS, take on a common curriculum and fulfil elective requirements at NUSC. They also live in the NUSC residential colleges for at least two years.

Mr Pranav Tumminkatti, who will be enrolling in NTU’s Renaissance Engineering Programme in 2027, said he is most excited about the service learning aspect of the new college.

The 18-year-old, who is now in national service, said: “Service learning teaches us things that cannot be learnt in the classroom by memorising a formula or doing a presentation.”

He added: “It teaches us how to be a more empathetic person... and contributes to building a more understanding society.”

Service learning generally refers to integrating community service with learning.

Mr Tumminkatti said the Tech for Good course piqued his interest the most, as it will teach students how to implement tech-driven solutions for societal issues.

“Traditional methods like going down to spend time with people are getting increasingly difficult to pursue because students are getting busier,” he said.

“Academic pressure is also increasing, so, moving forward, I think integrating technology and service learning is the way to go.”