On July 23, Kyoto University hosted the 2023 summer Qualifying Examination (QE) / Pre-QE meeting of its Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program (AFLSP).
The gathering — the eighth of its kind — opened with an address from Kyoto University Division of Graduate Studies’ Program-Specific Professor and Director Takao Hirajima, who explained the aim of the program — now in its tenth year — and the objective of the meeting as an opportunity for AFLSP scholars to share their research and public-service efforts.
In the main part of the event were presentation sessions run by Associate Professor Liang Zhao of the Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability (GSAIS, or ‘Shishu-Kan’) and Junior Associate Professor Kai-Chun Chang of the Graduate School of Engineering. Five scholars discussed their research and shared their public-service and other accomplishments over the past years. There were also presentations by three groups of scholars on their Team-Project Based Research (T-PBR). T-PBR, which involves working in groups of four or five, has been a part of AFLSP since April 2022.
After these sessions, each presenter received feedback from the reviewers, who selected one scholar and one T-PBR group for awards for excellent achievements and presentations. The reviewers also offered commentary, emphasizing the importance of experiencing cultural diversity and collaborating with each other. In addition, they encouraged the students to look beyond their fields of specialization, assuring them that participating in a broad range of activities will certainly benefit them in the future.
AFLSP is anticipated to continually facilitate Asian students’ understanding of cultural diversity and development of leadership skills for years to come.
Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program (AFLSP)
AFLSP was established in 2014 by BXAI with the aim of providing young people in Asia with opportunities to study in other parts of the region, enabling them to deepen their understanding of different cultures while gaining the leadership skills needed to contribute to regional and global development.
The program currently accepts approximately 100 students each year to study at six partner universities in Japan and China. As one of the partner universities, Kyoto University annually hosts approximately ten scholars.