The North Borneo University College is the first private university established in State of Sabah. Established under Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996, recognised by Ministry of Education Malaysia and full member of The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU, UK). NBUC is a nationally accredited university with a distinguished historical name of North Borneo in acknowledgement to the history and diversity in ethnicity, culture and language for the State of Sabah. The State of North Borneo was made a British protectorate in 1888.

The University established since 2006 and rebranded to North Borneo University College in March 2015, as the first private university college in Sabah that offering postgraduate programme up to doctoral level. North Borneo University College situated in Kota Kinabalu offers lots of opportunities to explore the beauty and uniqueness of Sabah to international students. The campus equipped with state-of-the-art technology such as Drone Technology, Ground Penetrating Radar, Forensic Lab, Armedeus Lab and e-library to stay ahead with Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Society 5.0.