About the Netherlands-Asia Honours Summer School (NAHSS)

Along with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the NAHSS is a joint initiative pioneered by Utrecht University, McKinsey & Company, TU Delft, and Akzo Nobel.

The programme offers second-year and third-year undergraduate students the opportunity to immerse themselves in project-based research across Asia. Since 2013, AUC students have been selected to participate in the NAHSS, building valuable experience in international collaboration and innovation.

Divyaansh’s experience in the NAHSS programme

Getting started and preparing for the trip

I’m Divyaansh, a recent third-year Social Science major at AUC with a focus on Economics. When I applied to NAHSS, I was curious about experiencing Asia and seeing how business worked in that part of the world, but I honestly had no idea what to expect from the consultancy project side of the program.

The programme actually kicked off well before we left for Asia. The intro week and kick-off events helped us meet the full delegation and start collaborating with our project teams. The visit to the Chinese Embassy provided useful context about the Netherlands’ relationship with the region and gave us an early sense of the international dimension of the programme.

Working on the consultancy project

For the consulting project I picked, I was lucky enough to be assigned to Turff, a Rotterdam-based startup founded by a NAHSS alumnus from TU Delft. Our project focused on developing UI features for their payment-splitting app.

After initial meetings, Turff asked us to concentrate on social features, so we designed ideas like:

• Showing what friends were buying
• A map of partnered restaurants where you could see if friends were nearby
• A shared finance feature for group saving goals

We ended up securing a Top 3 spot when we presented at Van Lang University in Vietnam. I think what resonated with the jury was that we understood how differently people approach splitting payments in Western versus Asian cultures.

Academic highlights in Hong Kong and Vietnam

Beyond the project work, the academic side of NAHSS was more substantial than I expected.

At CUHK, we explored Hong Kong’s colonial history and its current economic role. At Van Lang University, the lectures covered sustainable supply chains, geo-economic influences, and digital innovation.

The lecture on sustainable supply connected directly to our field trip to the Can Gio mangroves, which made those concepts tangible and relevant.

Cultural insights and memorable moments

There were plenty of stand-out moments. In Hong Kong, visiting Victoria Peak gave me the classic skyline view and a sense of the city’s momentum, while Tai O completely reshaped what I thought Hong Kong was—with stilt houses and a slower rhythm right next to a hyper-modern city.

One evening in West Kowloon, looking out over the harbour, something clicked for me about Asia’s focus on growth and development.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the boat ride through the Can Gio mangroves was beautiful, and the Saigon River Tunnel museum offered a practical look at how infrastructure gets built and maintained. The food throughout was excellent, and having a friend visit me while I was in Vietnam made it even better.

Reflections on the NAHSS experience

The NAHSS offered me a rare combination of academic learning, cultural exploration, and real-world consulting experience. It deepened my understanding of Asia’s economic and social dynamics while also giving me practical teamwork and innovation skills.

For anyone considering applying, I’d say: go for it. You’ll come away with a broader worldview, lifelong connections, and memories that stay with you far beyond the summer.

Interested in participating in the NAHSS?

Next year, AUC will not be sending a student directly to the Netherlands-Asia Honours Summer School (NAHSS). However, AUC students are still eligible to apply for the programme as candidates through Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). More information on this topic will be available soon on the Summer & Short term programmes page.