On 2 August, Kyoto University hosted the 2025 Summer Qualifying Examination (QE) / Pre-QE meeting of its Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program (AFLSP).
The event — the twelfth of its kind — began with an address from 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. He was followed by Program-Specific Professor and Director Takao Hirajima of the KyotoU Division of Graduate Studies, who emphasized the importance of the meeting as a platform for AFLSP scholars to share their research and social engagement activities with stakeholders both within and outside the University.
The main part of the meeting consisted of 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). Six scholars, who were completing their first or second year of the program in September, presented their research and discussed their 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 reviewers then provided their evaluations and awarded one T-PBR team for outstanding efforts. They highly praised the quality of all the presentations, noting that these projects, undertaken by the younger generation, offered unique perspectives and pointed to the potential for interdisciplinary team-based research. They also expressed high expectations for further dissemination of the scholars’ social engagement outcomes. Additionally, the reviewers reaffirmed the significance of Kyoto University’s AFLSP, stating that its pioneering content can serve as a model for the program’s other partner institutions.
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
Meeting participants
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