NUS Students Transform Ideas into Impact: A Journey from Curiosity to Entrepreneurial Brilliance
On August 20, 2025, more than 300 students from the National University of Singapore (NUS) engaged in the event “Building an Innovation Mindset,” which was part of the NUSOne initiative. This event was organized in collaboration with NUS Enterprise, the College of Design and Engineering (CDE), and the Office of the Provost. Its purpose was to facilitate the transformation of student curiosity into actionable entrepreneurial insights.
Transforming Failures into Learning Opportunities
The event featured a lecture titled “Ideas to Innovation,” presented by Associate Professor Khoo Eng Tat. The lecture stressed the significance of engineering and education as avenues for innovation. Associate Professor Khoo emphasized that developing an entrepreneurial mindset involves questioning assumptions, embracing experimentation, and learning from failures. Student Luis Olguin Reyes, a Year 4 student from the NUS Business School, reiterated this perspective, noting that failure is a crucial element of success in entrepreneurship.
Insights from Experienced Founders
A panel discussion, “How Founders Bring Passion to Life,” formed a key part of the event. Moderated by Remi Choong, a partner at Elev8.vc, the panel included three NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) alumni: Grace Chia of BeeX Autonomous Systems, M. Ibnur Rashad of Ground-Up Innovation Labs for Development, and Chang Qingyang of ConcreteAI. Their discussions provided insights into the challenges of entrepreneurship, emphasizing resilience, adaptability, and the importance of learning from setbacks.
Participants expressed inspiration from the panel, with Year 2 School of Computing student Leonard Goh noting the impact of Rashad’s comment regarding the inevitability of failures in entrepreneurship. Attendee Reiner Ong from CDE also indicated a newfound courage to pursue her entrepreneurial aspirations.
Engaging Problem-Solving Activities
The event concluded with an interactive challenge featuring the SOMA cube, a spatial puzzle designed to encourage teamwork and creative problem-solving. Participants like Neryss Ho, a Year 2 student from CDE, reported enjoyment of the activity, which highlighted the significance of collaboration and persistence when addressing complex issues.
Fostering an Entrepreneurial Mindset
Overall, the event emphasized that entrepreneurship extends beyond starting new ventures to include cultivating a mindset oriented toward innovation, curiosity, and learning from failure. Students departed with concrete goals aimed at addressing real-world challenges and forming interdisciplinary project teams, thus positioning themselves to contribute meaningfully in the future.
The initiative illustrated how programs like “Building an Innovation Mindset” provide students with valuable insights into entrepreneurship while promoting personal growth and the skills necessary to turn ideas into reality.
Original source: https://news.nus.edu.sg/from-classroom-curiosity-to-entrepreneurial-brilliance–nus-students-embark-on-a-journey-from-ideas-to-impact/
