Nurturing Future Entrepreneurs in ASEAN’s Largest Economy
NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS) is partnering with Indonesia’s Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP), which is the Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education Agency, to foster and cultivate innovation and entrepreneurship between Singapore and Indonesia.
Under this partnership, both LPDP and NUS Enterprise will jointly offer scholarships to deserving Indonesian students to support their graduate studies in NUS, in particular, the NUS Master of Science in Venture Creation (NUS MSVC).
NUS Enterprise and LPDP are forging a long-term institutional collaboration in education in the area of innovation and entrepreneurship, with the objective of enhancing the technological, innovative, entrepreneurial, social and cultural exchanges of both countries. Through the promotion of the NUS MSVC, the parties aim to transform mindsets and accelerate the translation of ideas into solutions, thereby connecting the entrepreneurship ecosystems in Indonesia and Singapore, as well as paving a way towards nurturing future entrepreneurs and leaders in Indonesia, ASEAN’s largest economy.
Professor Yue Chee Yoon, Director of NUS Enterprise Academy, said, “NUS is excited to work with LPDP in nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders in Indonesia. We look forward to grooming aspiring young Indonesian entrepreneurs through the NUS MSVC, bringing them closer to their entrepreneurial dreams. In turn, we are confident they would give back towards building innovation ecosystems back home, in Singapore and the region.”
Associate Professor Dwi Larso, Director of Scholarship, LPDP, said, “In line with the Indonesian government’s vision to embrace innovation, LPDP is cooperating with NUS, one of the world’s leading universities in entrepreneurial education, to support and nurture more entrepreneurs, in hope of bringing more value added to the Indonesia’s economy.”
Launched in 2021, the NUS MSVC is an immersive graduate degree programme that combines experiential learning with the academic rigour of one of the top universities in Asia and the world. Designed to transform mindsets and accelerate the translation of ideas into solutions, this one-year programme targets aspiring entrepreneurs wanting to launch new ventures with success or embark on an exciting new career in corporate innovation. Students are provided mentorship in business development and access to NUS technologies, as well as opportunities to network for market access. As part of the programme, students will have the opportunity to gain a valuable one-semester-long start-up internship experience. They get to work alongside co-founders of innovative startups, experience the energy and immerse themselves in the thick of the action while connecting with like-minded people from the start-up community, and forging a network of friends and future partners.
Following the signing of the agreement, NUS and LPDP will work closely to plan the launch of their joint initiatives within the next 12 months. Selected Indonesian students awarded the scholarships will attend the NUS MSVC starting from July 2023.
There will be a series of joint outreach events held in Indonesia at BLOCK71 Indonesia locations. BLOCK71 is an initiative by NUS Enterprise in collaborative and strategic partnerships with established corporates and government agencies. It is a tech ecosystem builder and global connector which catalyses and aggregates the start-up community, as well as spearhead new initiatives and provides mentorship and growth opportunities in local and global markets.
Shaping the Entrepreneurial Landscape for the Future Economy
From left to right: Ming Hwee Chong, Co-Founder & CEO of New Markets, 99 Group | Ahmed Aljunied, CTO & Co-Founder, Pinhome | Dr Agam Bayu Suryanto, Head of Cooperation and Scholarship Development Division, LPDP | Prof Yue Chee Yoon, Director, NUS Enterprise Academy | Vanessa Tan, Marketing Director, Xiaomi Technology Indonesia | Claire Cheong, Associate Director, NUS Enterprise
NUS Enterprise has been closely involved in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Indonesia since 2017 through programmes such as BLOCK71 Indonesia, NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) and the NUS Enterprise Summer Programme in Entrepreneurship. To date, NUS Enterprise has incubated more than 1,500 start-ups, providing incubation support and access to international markets through its BLOCK71 global network.
With a focus on shaping the entrepreneurial landscape for the future economy in the ASEAN region, the NUS Enterprise team with immense support from BLOCK71 Indonesia, co-organised the NUS-LPDP joint outreach events in BLOCK71 Jakarta, BLOCK71 Yogyakarta and BLOCK71 Bandung on 5 December 2022, 31 January 2023 and 2 February 2023 respectively.
One of the highlights of these events was the fireside chats featuring speakers who are trailblazers in the ASEAN innovation ecosystem. Speakers for the Jakarta event included Mr Ming Hwee Chong (Co-Founder & CEO of New Markets, 99 Group), Mr Ahmed Aljunied (CTO & Co-Founder of Pinhome) and Ms Vanessa Tan (Marketing Director, Xiaomi Technology Indonesia). The session was moderated by Ms Claire Cheong (Associate Director, NUS Enterprise). The speakers shared their inspiring journey in their entrepreneurial pursuits, and views on building a winning start-up.
These NUS-LPDP joint outreach events in Indonesia not only provided opportunities for like-minded people with entrepreneurial passion to gain insights from local entrepreneurs about entrepreneurial journeys, challenges faced, and business tips, but also offered a platform for aspiring entrepreneurs to learn more about NUS Enterprise’s entrepreneurial initiatives and LPDP scholarship opportunities.
Prospective students who are interested to find out more about the NUS MSVC may visit bit.ly/NUS-VentureCreation to learn more about the programme and its application details.
