On 24 January, Kyoto University hosted the 2025 Winter Qualifying Examination (QE) / Pre-QE meeting of its Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program (AFLSP).
The event — the 13th of its kind — began with an address from Program-Specific Professor and Director Takao Hirajima of the KyotoU Division of Graduate Studies, who emphasized the significance of this meeting as a platform for AFLSP scholars to share their research and social engagement activities with stakeholders both within and outside the University. He was followed by Professor Katsuichi Uchida, president of the Bai Xian Asia Institute (BXAI) Academic Committee, expressing his appreciation and expectations for Kyoto University’s role in the program.
The main part of the meeting featured presentation sessions, led by Professor Liang Zhao of the Division of Graduate Studies and the Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability (GSAIS) and Associate Professor Kai-Chun Chang of the Graduate School of Engineering. Nine scholars, who will complete their first or second year of the program in March, presented their research, social engagement, and other achievements from the past year. Following this, four groups each consisting of four to seven members reported on the results of their Team-Project Based Research (T-PBR), which involves AFLSP scholars and Japanese students working together.
The presentations were followed by comments from the reviewers, after which two scholars and one T-PBR team were recognized for their outstanding achievements. The reviewers noted that the diversity of the research topics made the sessions highly engaging, and commented that the ability to communicate one’s work clearly to audiences outside one’s field would be highly valuable for future academic and career pursuits.
Kyoto University hopes that the scholars will continue to deepen their exploration of cultural diversity through AFLSP, further expanding their personal networks and enhancing their leadership potential along the way.
During a presentation session
Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program (AFLSP)
AFLSP was established in 2014 by BXAI with the aim of providing young Asian citizens with study-abroad opportunities in East Asia, 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 eight partner universities in Japan, China, and Hong Kong. As one of the partner universities, Kyoto University annually hosts approximately ten scholars.
AloJapan.com