Daiwa Scholars 2019

Sophie Aminu-Edu

Sophie Aminu-Edu completed a BEng in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Surrey in 2019. While at university she was an active member of the Japanese Society and the Karate Society. She has been self-studying Japanese for three years and has visited Japan six times. She first visited Japan during her gap year and made further visits while an exchange student in Seoul. She aims to undertake a Masters programme in Japan on Robotics and Control before pursuing a PhD. She aspires to a research career in robotic engineering and wants to further her knowledge of robotics in Japan, which she considers to be pioneering the creation of new technologies within this discipline.

Sophie spent her homestay in Kasuga City, Fukuoka Prefecture, and undertook her work placement at RUTILEA.

Dea Bankova

Dea Bankova completed a BSc in Mathematics at University College London in 2014 and an MSc in Mathematics and Foundations of Computer Science at the University of Oxford in 2015. Prior to departing for Japan she was working as a Data Scientist. Dea aspires to work in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence, using these technologies to bring about positive change in society. Examples include using machine learning to tackle mental health issues and applying it to issues of sustainability. She was initially drawn to Japan through her interest in Japanese anime. Her interest in Japan grew to encompass Japanese food and music as well as recent technological developments. She has taken Japanese evening classes at UCL and SOAS, University of London. She looks forward to experiencing first-hand a society like Japan’s where robots and AI are perceived in a more positive light as well as to learn from world-famous academics in the field.

Dea spent her homestay in Kyoto City, and undertook her work placement at the University of Tokyo working on The Great East Japan Earthquake and Digital Archives.

Fergus MacLeod

Fergus MacLeod completed an MEng in Electrical Engineering at the University of Durham in 2019. While at Durham, Fergus attended Japanese lessons hosted by Japanese foreign students at Teikyo University Durham and was the Teikyo representative for St Mary’s College. He has visited Japan four times, once to undertake internships at the Institute of Energy Economics Japan and also at Kaneko Sangyo. He aspires to undertake a PhD in either Japan or the UK in the field of offshore wind turbines, in the development of which Japan is at the technological forefront with schemes such as as the Fukushima Forward floating wind demonstration project. He ultimately hopes to find employment in the Research and Development department of a wind turbine manufacturer.

Fergus spent his homestay in Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture, and undertook his work placement at Cosmo Eco Power Co, Ltd.

Jynsym Ong

Jynsym Ong was awarded a BA in English Literature from King’s College London in 2015, and completed a two-year Diploma in Ceramics at Clay College Stoke. She found the masterclasses at Clay College Stoke given by visiting Japanese potters to be enlightening, and her visit to Mashiko with Clay College students in September 2018 has informed her current work. She intends to become a self-sufficient studio potter and to promote Japanese ideas, approaches and aesthetics in the field of ceramics, while fostering exchange of knowledge with potters in Japan. She is keen to learn more about wood-firing kilns and to improve her understanding of glazing and other types of kilns while in Japan.

Symy spent her homestay in Tanegashima, Kagoshima Prefecture, and her work placement at the Mitou Pottery in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture.

Kathleen Reilly

Kathleen Reilly completed a BA in Silversmithing and Jewellery at Glasgow School of Art in 2015 and an MA in Jewellery and Metal at the Royal College of Art in 2018.  In 2013, while studying at Glasgow School of Art, she was selected for an exchange to Hiko Mizuno College of Jewellery in Tokyo for three months, during which time she studied different carving techniques and learned about Haiga and Ukiyoe. Up until departing for Japan in September 2019,  she was working as a self-employed artist and metalworker, while also continuing as a freelance lecturer at Glasgow School of Art. She is keen to forge strong relationships with metalwork industries in Japan while building on existing connections. She aspires to establish an international studio that combines her work as an artist, working across sculpture and product design, exploring expectations of contemporary dining practice and specialising in metals. Kathleen is represented by Gallery S O.

In 2019 Kathleen was interviewed about Japan House London’s 2018 exhibition, Biology of Metal: Craftsmanship in Tsubame Sanjo. You can see the 7-minute film here.

Kathleen spent her homestay in Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture. During her work placement she was based at Ohizumi Bussan for six months, during which time she also spent two weeks at Suwao Plating.

Sammy Shair

Sammy Shair completed a BA in History at the University of Oxford in 2018. In his second year he took a module on modern Japanese History and went on to write a dissertation on Tokugawa social history. While at university he took an extracurricular basic Japanese course and began to practise Kendo. He aims to undertake a Masters course in Japan and then to pursue a PhD in the UK, focussing on early nineteenth and twentieth century Japan. As a researcher he intends to advocate for reform in the history curriculum, which he feels lacks real international scope, and also aspires to lead public initiatives that better support Asian history.

Sammy spent his homestay in Kochi City and Kuroshio Town – both in Kochi Prefecture. Sammy’s work placement was at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Advanced Social and International Studies.

Daniel Stanyon

Daniel Stanyon completed a BA in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge in 2016 and an MSc in Psychology of Mental Health at the University of Edinburgh in 2017. Up until departure for Japan in September 2019, he was working as a Research Assistant on a large-cohort study of inner-city adolescents at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London. Dan has been interested in Japan since an early age and studied Japanese at school for four years. During this time he visited Japan twice: once in 2010 on a British Council-sponsored immersion course and again with family in 2012 in order to share with them his enthusiasm for Japan. He aims to undertake a PhD involving a cross-cultural comparison of adolescent mental health in the UK and Japan, with a view to working in global mental health research and policy development.

Dan spent his homestay in Akita City, and undertook his work placement at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science.

Isabelle Ward

Isabelle Ward completed a BA (International) in Geography at the University of Leeds in 2016. She became interested in city planning as a way to tackle social and environmental issues during her year at the National University of Singapore. She gained an MSc in International Planning from University College London in 2018 and up until beginning the Scholarship, was working as a Policy Advisor for Crossrail 2 at the Department for Transport. She aspires to forge a career proactively addressing the impact of cities across the world and in finding innovative solutions to shared problems. She has a professional interest in how city planners and policy makers in Japan are tackling some of these issues and the approaches they are taking. Learning Japanese would allow her to deepen her knowledge of Japan’s urban planning culture and to work effectively on globally pressing issues, most notably climate change, with a range of stakeholders in Japan and beyond.

Izzy spent her homestay in Miyazaki City, and was based at Local Governments for Sustainability during her work placement.