On 2 February, Kyoto University hosted the 2024 Winter Qualifying Examination (QE) / Pre-QE meeting of its Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program (AFLSP).
The gathering — the eleventh of its kind — began with an address from Professor Katsuichi Uchida, president of the Bai Xian Asia Institute (BXAI) Academic Committee, expressing his appreciation for Kyoto University's role in the program and expectations for this meeting. He was followed by Program-Specific Professor and Director Takao Hirajima of the KyotoU Division of Graduate Studies, who delivered a message to the scholars in attendance and provided an overview of the program’s objectives.
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 other faculty. Eleven scholars, completing their first or second year of the program in March, presented their research and shared their public-service activities and other achievements from the past year. Following this, four groups, each consisting of three to seven members, reported on the results of their Team-Project Based Research (T-PBR), which involves AFLSP scholars and Japanese students working together.
Afterwards, each presenter received feedback from the reviewers, who recognized one QE scholar and one T-PBR group for their outstanding achievements and presentations. The reviewers remarked that they had greatly enjoyed listening to and learning from the presentations, which covered a wide range of academic fields. They also pointed out that the scholars must be extremely fortunate to have met and gotten to know numerous peers from different backgrounds, expressing hope that these connections would endure beyond graduation. Additionally, they emphasized the significance of the meeting as an opportunity for students to look beyond their own projects and to learn from and be inspired by others’ work.
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.
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.
