My application for the NUS Overseas College (NOC) programme for July 2010 has been the focus of my last four weeks, and so far I’ve been successfully through the first two stages. I’m currently waiting for the result of the Round Two interview, although I’m not really sure when it’s due to be released. I guess I’ll be waiting pretty nervously these upcoming weeks.

The NOC Programme in a nutshell is a year-long internship at a start up in a major city like Silicon Valley, Beijing and Stockholm. Besides just working, the programme also includes an academic attachment at a local university, and another bonus is the awarding of a Minor in Technopreneurship upon its completion. Such is the attractiveness of NOC, and the limit on the number of selected applicants only serves to heighten its exclusiveness.

Ironically, in a post slightly less than a year ago, I mentioned I wasn’t interested in going overseas, and back then it was true. A drastic change of personal circumstances occurred earlier this year however, and my priorities have significantly shifted. NOC now rests comfortably on top of the heap of things I hope to achieve before graduation, which probably explains the conflicting overzealous excitement and excessive worry that I’ve been experiencing over the last month.

This fervour started when they sent out the email around August 10th announcing that NOC applications were open. I knew I had NOC on my charts, but I still wanted to spend some thinking it through. The online application was relatively straightforward, requiring quite a fair bit of personal and academic details. The harder parts were writing a 300-word essay in which I had to describe my entrepreneurial aspirations as well as how NOC would benefit me, and also getting relevant references for the programme.

That was Stage I, and definitely the easiest of all, as it wasn’t long after that I received the email requesting me to select an interview timing. As I had submitted on the deadline of the online application, I was one of the last few and thus had little choice in my selection, and I ended up with a slot on the last day of the Round One interview.

The first interview, or Stage II, was a relatively casual affair. The attire required for the interview was smart casual, and the interviewers were an NOC senior and a member of staff. The questions asked included the critical one of every interview (yes, I’m looking at you, “Tell us about yourself.”), but the later questions were more specific and relevant to the programme. I had to talk about quite a range of things, such as my entrepreneurial ambitions, what career I saw myself in in future, what I would do if I did not make it for NOC, etc.

I didn’t make it a point to memorise anything beyond an introduction of myself, and so I took the questions spontaneously. I think I managed to say most of what I intended to say, although I felt there were some ‘not-so-useful’ questions which involved self-promotion, like when I was asked to evaluate my own interpersonal skills. I was prompted during the questioning that they were looking for individuals who were able to interact well with other people, and I honestly doubt that anyone sitting in that chair would put up their hand and say, “You got me there.”

I was asked to pitch sgBEAT during this interview, and I got to talk about OrangeOasis, so I’d like to think they had a say in me making it past that stage. Nonetheless, I wasn’t really sure how I did after the interview, so I was pretty relieved to receive the good news (via email again) the next morning. The next step was to book a timing for the Round Two interview, and that was when the real worrying began.

Stage III, the Round Two interview, was serious business. One of the interviewers was the Professor in charge of the NUS Overseas College programme apparently, and I felt it was crucial to make an impression in this round. The attire was formal, and I was required to prepare a hard copy of my curriculum vitae. I thought it would be pretty fun to try and be different, so instead of printing out my usual CV in Word, I went the whole nine yards and designed it Photoshop before having it printed on glossy paper. Costly, no doubt, but hopefully memorable to the interviewers whether I make it through or not.

Safe to say, the second interview was nothing like the first. The other two interviewers present were another Professor as well as a member of the NOC alumni, and the batch of questions asked were far more impromptu than that of the previous round. I think the interview was set out to render any preparation made useless, as the interviewers would often interrupt my answer with another question, and subsequently that answer with another. It was confusing at times, as I frequently tried hard to relate my answers back to the original question, only to realise that the conversation had ended up so off-tangent by then.

Apparently the interviewers aren’t given the information provided in the online application, so between the hard copy of my CV and myself, I had to try my best to impress them within the twenty minutes allocated. The obvious questions were why I applied for the programme, why I chose Silicon Valley, and why I feel I deserve to be selected for it. I was also asked to describe sgBEAT, discuss possible monetization strategies as well as value it (which I declined/was unable to do so), and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I said enough to leave them with something to think about. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to talk about the other projects I’m involved in, so that was certainly quite a shame.

I left the second interview slightly in a daze, and I personally felt that it would be one of those interviews where even if I made it through, I wouldn’t be sure exactly why or how I did it. I’m now left to wait with apprehension for the result, and I’m really hoping that the next email I receive from the programme will bring good news. This post has gotten far longer than I had hoped, but I think I managed to cover most of what I’ve gone through in my NOC process so far.

Update: I’ve been “provisionally accepted for the NUS College in Silicon Valley (NCSV) JUL 2010 Intake”, and I’m totally overjoyed that I’m another step closer. I’m not really sure when the company interviews will take place, although I’m guessing it’ll most probably be next year. On hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t take up the IT Director position in NES (although I almost did to increase my NOC chances) as it’s really not a necessary condition after all.

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