6 things you didn’t know you could do at the NTU Honours College

by Hazel Tang 

The NTU Honours College, or NHC for short, welcomed its inaugural batch of students last year. It brings students from different disciplines together to turn ideas into ventures, use technology for good, and develop as global leaders. Alongside your degree studies in your home school, you’ll join the College’s interdisciplinary community to tackle real-world challenges through core and elective courses.  NTU freshmen from any programme who demonstrate strong academic performance and a passion for service may apply to join the NTU Honours College in their second year through its Mid-Term admissions pathway.

NHC student Hazel Tang shares six ways to stretch yourself alongside peers from different schools, with mentorship from leading academics and industry experts.

1. Build your own startup with mentorship from company founders  

My peers at the College have big ideas – and equally huge appetites for seeing how far those ideas can go. The College’s Startup Sprint: Entrepreneurship in Action course lets us explore turning those ideas into ventures, guided by startup founders and entrepreneurship experts.  

I like that the course starts with a problem to solve, rather than a product to sell. I’m used to putting ideas on paper for projects and presentations. The chance to test those ideas with actual users and improve them based on their feedback sounds exciting. 

Some friends want to build startups around digital tools that help students juggle their studies and other commitments. If their tools can make student life a little less hectic, I’d be keen to give them a try.

I’m part of Ideascape, an NTU Honours College team that uses technology as a force for good. (I’m the one holding the whiteboard in the centre.) Drawing on our different fields of study – from business to humanities and social sciences – we combine fresh perspectives to develop stronger solutions to today’s complex problems.    

2. Put AI and tech to work for communities

NTU has been ranked the world’s best university for artificial intelligence (AI) for two consecutive years. Studying at a place with such strong AI expertise gives us opportunities to learn from leading researchers and explore how we can use AI to make a difference in our communities.

The College’s Tech-for-Good service-learning course is a good place to start. We partner with a social service agency to use AI and other technologies to tackle challenges faced by the people it serves. We can pitch our own idea or take on a problem raised by the agency. The causes we serve could be anything from wildlife protection and environmental cleanups to food distribution and supporting the elderly or communities in need.

Working with teammates from different disciplines means there’s always more than one way to look at a problem. Someone might spot a need I’ve missed or suggest an approach I might not have considered at first. I’ll be taking this course next semester and am excited to see what we can build together – and how it could make someone’s day a little easier or their life a lot better.

Some of my College mates taking the course this semester are designing a simulated MRT gantry and a transport card top-up machine to help autistic students learn essential life skills, such as taking public transport on their own. They will further tailor the designs to the young users based on their feedback. 

One Tech-for-Good team is working on a simulated MRT gantry to help children with autism practise tapping their cards and passing through the gates, so they can gain confidence in taking public transport.

3. Run a global symposium in Singapore and engage policymakers and industry leaders

Planning a high-level event for about 1,000 people wasn’t something I expected to do in university. But as part of the NTU Honours College’s first batch, I’m helping to organise next year’s inaugural Singapore Symposium with regional universities, public agencies and industry leaders.

Led by students from the College, the four-day event will bring our peers from around the world together with senior policymakers and business leaders to explore how AI, climate disruption and geopolitical fragmentation could shape ASEAN’s future.

Our challenge is to make these big issues feel relevant to students from different countries. We’re planning competitions and showcases that get participants sharing ideas, debating solutions and questioning one another’s assumptions. We want everyone to leave with fresh perspectives and ideas of their own to take forward. 

4. Host international VIPs at university events and represent NTU overseas

Hosting an international guest at a major university event might sound daunting when you’re still a student. But student ambassadors get advanced ambassadorial training before stepping into the role. I learnt how to make guests feel welcome and stay calm and adaptable when plans change during an event.

I’ve already put some of that training into practice at outreach sessions, where I meet prospective and incoming students as an NTU Honours College student ambassador. They want to know what it’s actually like to be part of this new college.

I tell them about the friends I’ve made across disciplines, how we get to meet industry leaders, and how much more confident I’ve become in the process. Their excitement reminds me of my first days at NTU. It feels good to now be the one welcoming them in.

Next year, I’ll be hosting VIPs at the Singapore Symposium – a chance to go from reading about the work of influential people to speaking with them and learning directly from them.

Some of my peers recently engaged with Mr Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Social and Family Development. The open conversation gave them a chance to raise concerns about jobs, social welfare and more, and to feel that their views were heard.

There are opportunities to go beyond Singapore too. Students can apply to become global ambassadors and represent NTU abroad.

I emceed a welcome tea with my classmate Matthew and talked about the College’s courses and electives. The event was bustling with conversation, so getting everyone’s attention was tricky. I learnt not to “talk over” the noise, but to offer information they cared about so they’d tune in.

5. Show what you stand for, build your portfolio and get face time with senior leaders

All of the College’s programmes give you experiences to showcase in your portfolio. But you also learn to think strategically about yourself as a leader. What I’ve found especially useful is the Personal Development Programme that got me thinking about how I present myself and what I want to be known for. I had to work out how I wanted others to see me – and whether that felt like who I actually was. It was an insightful exercise in getting to know myself better. 

Last semester, I experimented with a polished “aspiring policymaker” image and a more creative approach rooted in my interests. Combining the two helped me present myself as someone curious about big questions, such as what makes political authority legitimate. This felt authentic, and I could talk about it with confidence.

With guidance from trainers, we learnt how to market ourselves to employers and create content for our portfolios. Beyond figuring out what I could bring to the working world, I learnt how to communicate it clearly.

We also met senior industry professionals, who generously shared their knowledge and experience. I hear that from the next semester, each student in the course will be paired with an industry mentor for personalised advice that could help open doors.

6. Pick a cause close to your heart and run your own fundraising campaign 

Many of the world’s most influential leaders are also effective fundraisers. They know how to turn a vision into something people will back. Fundraising is a chance to practise that kind of leadership – earning trust, making a compelling case and turning support into action.

The College’s Community Fundraising Project elective lets us choose a cause and run a campaign for it. I want to support seniors in Singapore, starting by getting to know them and understanding what they need. My hope is to bring the wider community together to build support that lasts beyond the campaign.

That means learning to lead a team, get others involved and see a project through from start to finish. Having a cause I care about gives those lessons purpose. Success, to me, would mean more than reaching a fundraising target: it would mean turning our shared concern into something that makes a lasting difference to seniors.

At an event with NTU Honours College Dean Prof Gan Chee Lip (third from right), who thanked our small team of ambassadors for engaging students at outreach events and spreading the word about the new College.

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