Daiwa Scholars 2019 depart for Tokyo

This year’s Scholars left for Tokyo early on the 4^th of September. On their arrival in Japan they will begin intensive language tuition in Japanese at Waseda University, Tokyo, for one year, where they are expected to reach a high level of written and spoken proficiency. Equipped with their new language skills, the Scholars will spend one month on a homestay with a Japanese family in another part of Japan, and the last six months of the programme in work placements. In the past, these have been at university research centres, architecture practices, law firms, film production companies, art galleries, think tanks, media companies and government departments. Through the Scholarship, the Scholars will have an intensive experience of Japan, and forge new links there.

The Scholars are: a budding studio potter who wants to learn more about Japanese kilns and glazes; a historian keen to further his study of Japanese history before pursuing postgraduate study on early 19^th and 20^th century Japan; an urban planner who wants to use her experience in Japan to establish a career addressing the environmental and social problems facing cities; two engineers, one wanting to further her knowledge of robotics before beginning a research career in robotic engineering, and the other keen to further his study of offshore wind farms, in which Japan is a leader; a silversmith aiming to develop links with metalwork industries in Japan before establishing an international studio that combines her work as an artist and designer; a data scientist wanting to understand how robots and AI are perceived in Japan before embarking on a career promoting the positive use of machine learning and AI; and a psychologist who will explore mental health in Japan, before pursuing a PhD in the cross-cultural comparison of adolescent mental health.

Announcing the new Daiwa Scholars, Jason James, Director General of The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, said:

“I am always staggered by the large number, and very high quality, of applications for the Daiwa Scholarships. This enables us to accept only individuals we consider to be truly outstanding – and this year’s Scholars are no exception. With expertise ranging from history to robots, these young people look set to achieve great things. Some of them will no doubt remain actively engaged with Japan throughout their careers, but we are confident that all of them will be imbued with an enduring love of that wonderful country by their experiences on this programme.”

Their profiles can be found via the following this link.

The closing date for applications for Daiwa Scholarships 2020 is Thursday 5 December 2019. Further details and an application pack are available from the link below.

Application Details