In 1996, the founders of the University decided to respond to the Government’s call to make Malaysia a regional centre of education excellence by setting up a private higher educational institution. The dream was an institution that provides affordable quality education benchmarked against world standards. The first step towards the realisation of this dream began in 1996, when the groundwork commenced in the strategically located modern township of Putra Nilai.

1998 – With full infrastructure in place, Nilai College opened its doors, offering homegrown diploma programmes in the areas of Business, Information Technology, Engineering and Hospitality. In addition, as one of the first institutions approved to run 3+0 programmes, Nilai College offered students internationally recognised foreign degrees – the La Trobe University (Australia) degree in business and the Oxford Brookes University (United Kingdom) degrees in accounting, business, computing and hospitality.

1999 – Within a year, the University’s name spread to other countries and in 1999, the pioneer batch of international students enrolled. Currently, the University maintains one of the highest international to Malaysian student ratio amongst private institutions of higher learning. This cosmopolitan environment with students from over 50 countries worldwide, adds a vibrant and exciting atmosphere to campus life. In today’s increasingly globalised world, these opportunities for cross-cultural experiences go a long way in preparing one for a global career.

2003 – The University’s dedication and commitment was given due recognition when it won the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) Industry Excellence Award (Services) in 2003. Since the turn of the century, the University has developed other programmes rooted in traditional academic fields, as well as those innovative and new to the Malaysian academic landscape such as the Aircraft Maintenance and Automotive Engineering programmes. In addition to undergraduate programmes, the university has added a number of Master degree programmes to its offerings.

2007 – The government of Malaysia conferred University College status to the institution.

2012 – The institution reached another huge milestone with an invitation to become a full-fledged University by the Ministry of Higher Education in 2012.

The institution was rated as Tier 5 (Excellent) by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency – SETARA 2011 Ratings