Founded in 1996, with departments brought in from other existing colleges, it is the only national university in the country.

National University of Laos "NUOL" was established by merging the higher education institutes which were under the supervision of several ministries into one university under the Ministry of Education in accordance to the Decree Number 50/PM of the Prime Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Laos dated 9 June 1995.

NUOL has played 4 roles in 1/ providing higher education in areas required for the socio-economic development of Laos; 2/ performing research in natural and social sciences; 3/ preserving the arts, culture and traditions of the nation; and 4/ providing academic services to society.

At present, NUOL is accepted as one of the main and important public organization in the Laos.

The ICT Development plan of university is adjusted or improved almost every year in order to catch up with the change of the technology.