“Think of two adjectives that describe you” may seem like a simple question. Many of us answer by balancing a strength with an area for growth. At Residential College 4 (RC4)’s Startup Carnival, a student-led showcase of entrepreneurial projects, we met teams whose work embodies two unmistakable qualities: innovation and passion.

RC4 is known for having a wide variety of unique and interesting Interest Groups: from arts like coffee and dance to pickle ball and swimming. It also includes the newly formed RC4Entre, our very own interest group focused on entrepreneurship.

On 27th October 2025, RC4 witnessed the flagship event of RC4Entre, the Startup Carnival. 20+ student-led startups from NUS setup booths to showcase student entrepreneurship and hire the best talent from across NUS. We saw attendance from over 300 students.

The RC4 team alongside all our student founders.

RC4 and NUS is known for its diversity, from interests to backgrounds to ideas. The RC4 startup carnival perfectly embodied this spirit, seeing participation from a wide variety of student-led startups that included tech apps, productivity tools, clothing and tutoring platforms. As a result, every attendee got to interact with not just founders but fellow peers who shares the same interest of entrepreneurship.

“This event not only showcased the vibrant startup culture within our community but also provided tangible pathways for students to engage with the next wave of groundbreaking companies,” shared Javier Lim, President of RC4Entre.

This event was further brightened by talks from esteemed guests: Prof. Virginia Cha and Mr. Hugh Mason, both visionaries in their fields. The speciality of these talks was that they were both focused on incredibly important issues of today viewed from a student’s perspective. Prof. Cha discussed the growth of entrepreneurship in Singapore from the very start, getting up close and personal with its roots and Mr. Mason discussed an issue that many student founders face: dealing with relatives who may not be supportive if they do not have a conventional job.

A presentation by expert Hugh Mason titled “When Are You Going to Get a Proper Job?”

The event ended with everyone’s favourite thing: Acai! The Acai Truck, also a NUS founded startup graciously offered free Acai to everyone who attended, marking a sweet end to this productive evening. The effort did not end there however, countless RC4 residents and NUS students are now interning at the firms that presented at the carnival, marking an extremely fruitful end to the event. The RC4 Entre team is excited to host more of such events in the near future to further encourage entrepreneurship at RC4.