Christiane Wüllner and Jörn Benzinger, standing center, with members of the Sylff Association secretariat.

On May 20, 2019, Christiane Wüllner and Jörn Benzinger of Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB) visited the Sylff Association secretariat in Tokyo. Wüllner is currently the managing director of the RUB Research School and a key member of the RUB Sylff Steering Committee. Benzinger is the coordinator of international affairs. The two, on their first visit to Japan, were attending university fairs in Tokyo and Osaka to invite prospective students to apply to RUB.

It was also an opportunity to discuss the Sylff new scheme at RUB in 2017. RUB has launched a uniquely structured “Sylff College” with a mission to facilitate multidisciplinary research. The first  group of Sylff fellows share an academic theme, “forced migration,” enabling each to develop his or her research while collaborating in various ways, such as organizing international academic conferences. Other students and professors have become interested in this theme, and the group has subsequently grown.

We hope that “Sylff College” evolves in creative and positive ways in the years ahead.

Paulina Berrios, a Sylff fellowship recipient in 2003–04 while attending the University of Chile, visited the Sylff Association secretariat in Tokyo on Thursday, March 7, 2019. She is currently an administrator in the Institutional Research Office of the University of Chile in Santiago.

Berrios, third from left, during her visit to the Sylff Association secretariat.

Visiting Japan for the fourth time, Berrios attended an international conference on academic teaching and research in the knowledge society, hosted by the Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University, on March 4–5, 2019. At the conference, Berrios made a presentation on the “Academic Profession in Chile: The Fieldwork Experience and Some Preliminary Findings.”

Berrios’s core academic interest has been the working conditions of the teaching staff at Chile universities. Now that she has become an administrator at the University of Chile, she is able to examine the issue from the viewpoint of both a researcher and a practitioner, adding depth and balance to her insights.

Berrios, presenting on her Sylff Research Abroad experience at 2014 Sylff Administrators Meeting in Tokyo.

Berrios has continued to engage with the Sylff community during the course of her career. She has conducted research abroad with an SRA grant, has served on the Sylff Fellows Council, and was invited to make a presentation at the Sylff Administrators Meeting in 2014. We hope to continue working closely with her and will be supporting any initiatives on strengthening networking among University of Chile Sylff fellows.

https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/sra/

The Sylff Association is pleased to announce Sylff Research Abroad (SRA) ’s call for applications for fiscal 2019 (April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020). The deadline for the first selection round is June 28 (for those planning research abroad after August 1) and for the second selection is January 8, 2020 (for those planning research abroad after February 5).

Click here for details of the announcement.

SRA supports current or past Sylff fellowship recipients to conduct academic research related to their doctoral dissertation in a foreign country. It provides the grant of up to US$5,000 each to successful applicants. We hope you will be able to become one of them.

We look forward to receiving your applications!

https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/sra/

The Sylff Association secretariat is pleased to announce the nine recipients of SRA awards in the second selection round for fiscal 2018. In this round, we again received outstanding applications for research in various specialized fields from fellows all over the world.

We reviewed all applications carefully from the perspectives of eligibility, the feasibility of the proposals, and the relevance of the proposed research to the applicants’ academic pursuits. The awardees in this round were at different stages of their research, some taking advantage of SRA to collect fundamental data for their doctoral dissertation, with others using the opportunity to verify their findings and receive further advice from overseas experts.

Congratulations to all the awardees! We send them our best wishes and hope their research abroad will be fruitful and pave the way for the next stage of academic advancement. The nine awardees are as follows:

* Listed in alphabetical order.

Officials from the Energy Department of the Government of Bihar, Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL), and other visitors from India dropped by the office of the Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research (Sylff Association secretariat) on January 15, 2019. The delegation was making the visit as part of a 10-day international study tour of Japan.

The study tour to Japan was conceptualized and designed by Professor Lakshmi B., director, Centre for Human Resources Development and Centre for Poverty Studies and Rural Development, Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad, India. The purpose of the study tour was to help officials gain an understanding of the power distribution, transmission, and renewable energy scenario of Japan, as well as of innovations in the country’s energy sector.

The delegation was led by Sreerupa Sengupta, a Sylff fellow at Jadavpur University, in 2008–10.

Sengupta is currently an assistant professor at the Centre for Human Resources Development at ASCI, Hyderabad. The Administrative Staff College of India is an institution of national excellence and has pioneered post-experience management education in India. ASCI was set up jointly by the Government of India and industry as an autonomous, self-supporting, public-interest institution to serve as a think tank providing policy recommendations and to develop management professionals for both government and business enterprises.

The delegation consisted of 14 participants, including Binoda Nand Jha, joint secretary of the Energy Department in the Government of Bihar; N.K.P Sinha, technical advisor, BSPHCL, and Pradip Maji, general manager for South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited. They met with Hikaru Hiranuma, a research fellow at the Foundation and an expert on energy issues, who discussed the state of renewable energy in Japan. The visitors expressed great interest in the differences between India and Japan regarding energy policy and the energy situation, including the fact that electric power supply in Japan was provided by 10 separate regional companies.

The Sylff Association secretariat is always happy to welcome Sylff fellows and to connect them with the Foundation’s policy experts.

Sengupta (tenth from left), Hiranuma (holding blue bag), members of the Indian delegation, and staff of the Sylff Association secretariat.

Members of the Sylff Association secretariat were saddened to learn that Frances Seeds, one of the Sylff program’s very first fellows, passed away in November 2018. She received a fellowship in 1987 while attending the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and worked for many years as one of the top interpreters in Japan.

After graduating from Tufts University’s Fletcher School, where she received a master’s degree in international relations, Seeds became a Japanese-English conference interpreter, working at many important events in both the private and public sectors, including international conferences, negotiations, and summit meetings. As a fully bilingual speaker of English and Japanese, she was frequently praised for her ability to fully convey the meaning of remarks in both languages.

Her skills were in evidence very recently, when she provided interpretation at the farewell lunch party for the Sylff Leaders Workshop in September 2018. Her poise and masterful rendering of comments by Nippon Foundation President Takeju Ogata and other speakers made a deep impression on all participants.

We are all pained by the sudden news of her passing and feel a deep sense of loss. May her soul rest in peace.

Frances Seeds (far left) interprets for Takeju Ogata, president of the Nippon Foundation (standing with microphone), at the farewell lunch party for participants of the Sylff Leaders Workshop in September 2018.

Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa (first row, second from left), flanked (from left) by Aya Oyamada, Yue Zhang, and Yoko Kaburagi (director); (second row, from left) Sanae Oda (executive director), Yumi Arai, Keita Sugai, Mari Suzuki (director), Misa Tanaka, and Tomoko Yamada (behind Mari).

The Sylff Association secretariat was pleased to receive news of challenging initiatives undertaken by current and graduated fellows from all over the world in 2018.

The year also saw a significant strengthening of support programs offered by the Association. In September, an inaugural group of 20 fellows participated in the fall session of the Sylff Leaders Workshop, held in Sasayama and Tokyo. A fellow from South Africa became the second recipient of a Sylff Project Grant. And Local Association Networking Support events were held in India, New Zealand, Mexico, and Kenya, enabling participants at these four gatherings to meet fellows from different years.

In June, the twenty-fifth anniversary of Sylff in China was celebrated with a symposium in Beijing, attended by some 200 current and graduated fellows from 10 Sylff institutions in the country. Separate anniversary events were hosted by five Chinese institutions this year.

FROM THE SYLFF WEBSITE 2018

Sylff Leaders Workshop

Feb 28, 2018
Launch of “Sylff Leaders Workshop” in Japan: An Opportunity to Interact with Fellows from across the Globe
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24232/

Jun 26, 2018
Sylff Leaders Workshop: Update
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24804/

Aug 8, 2018
Sylff Leaders Workshop: Selection Outcome
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25048/

Nov 16, 2018
Fall Session of Sylff Leaders Workshop 2018–19
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25429/

Sylff Project Grant

Dec 12, 2018
Second Sylff Project Grant Awarded for Early Childhood Development Initiative
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25624/

Sylff Disaster Relief Fund
Mar 12, 2018
Colmex: Supporting Earthquake Victims with Help from the “Sylff Disaster Relief Fund”
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24264/

Sylff Research Abroad 

Apr 20, 2018
SRA Awardees for Fiscal 2017, Second Round
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24474/

Apr 26, 2018
Sylff Research Abroad 2018 Open!
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24574/

Oct 18, 2018
SRA Awardees for Fiscal 2018, First Round
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25300/ 

Sylff Leadership Initiatives

Dec 10, 2018
SLI Awards in 2018: Projects to Stop Violence against Women and to Improve Medical Injury Responses
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25619/

25^th Anniversary of Sylff in China

Aug 31, 2018
Sylff’s Silver Jubilee in China (1): Milestone Administrators Meeting in Beijing
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25166/ 

Aug 31, 2018
Sylff’s Silver Jubilee in China (2): 25th Anniversary Ceremony and Commemorative Symposium
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25174/ 

Aug 31, 2018
Sylff’s Silver Jubilee in China (3): Four Universities Celebrate 25th Anniversary
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25185/

New Financial Scheme

Five institutions signed Agreements to join the new financial scheme in 2018: Charles University, University of the Western Cape, University of Latvia, Gadjah Mada University, and Utrecht University. Eighteen institutions now operate the Sylff program under the new scheme. Click here for details. 

Sylff@Tokyo

Sep 21, 2018
Visit by China Fellow Guo Xuetang
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25261/ 

Nov 27, 2018
Visit by Comenius Fellow Tomas Michalek
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25554/ 

Nov 29, 2018
Visit by China Fellow Professor Mei Jianming
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25576/

Dec 18, 2018
Keio Fellow Charts Path toward a More Resilient Society
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/25687/

Sylff Association Secretariat
Mar 16, 2018
New Sylff Association Logo
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24304/

Mar 30, 2018
Tokyo Foundation’s New Name
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24371/ 

Jun 27, 2018
Sylff Association Brochure Renewal
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24849/ 

Jun 27, 2018
Sixth “Voices” Booklet Now Online and in Print
https://www.sylff.org/news_voices/24783/

Sakurai, standing third from left, and members of Sylff Association secretariat.

The Sylff Association secretariat was delighted to receive a visit on October 2, 2018, from Mihoko Sakurai, a 2013 Sylff fellowship recipient at Keio University’s Shonan Fujisawa Campus, where she received a PhD from the Graduate School of Media and Governance.

Sakurai had just returned from Norway, where she worked as an associate professor at the University of Agder. She was appointed senior research fellow and associate professor at the Center for Global Communications (GLOCOM) of the International University of Japan in September 2018.

She is dedicated to helping build a more sustainable society through her research on resilient information systems. In the wake of the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, she examined, while still a graduate student, how local governments could build disaster-resilient communication systems. She has continued to work in this field and is now addressing issues related to the building of resilient smart cities.

While receiving a Sylff fellowship at Keio University, she applied for and received an SRA award to study abroad at the University of Georgia in the United States. This experience strengthened her desire to pursue a research career from an international perspective. After earning her doctorate, she took a position as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University Agder, participating in the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

Sakurai expressed gratitude for Sylff’s support in enabling her to broaden her professional horizons. The Sylff Association secretariat, too, is happy to hear from her and wishes her much success in her professional pursuits.

Read about Mihoko Sakurai on the Sylff Fellows profile page and the GLOCOM website.

From left, a schoolteacher, Louis Benjamin, Keita Sugai of the Sylff Association secretariat, and a district education officer stand with grade R students during Keita’s site visit.

Louis Benjamin, Sylff fellow 2002–05 at the University of the Western Cape, has been selected to receive a Sylff Project Grant to facilitate improvements in education for grade R children (ages five to six) in Northern Cape Province, considered one of the poorest in South Africa.

He is the second to be awarded the grant since the program was launched in September 2017. Benjamin now runs an NGO called Basic Concepts Unlimited (BCU) in South Africa that provides specialized educational services to the early childhood development sector, schools, and educational practitioners who are working with young children, particularly in the foundation phase (grades R–3). (http://www.basicconcepts.co.za/about/about)

He has developed what he calls the BCP method—-cognition teaching with a noncognitive approach—that enables young children to acquire basic educational and life skills and prepare for the foundation phase (up to grade 3) of schooling.

He will introduce the BCP method to grade R teachers in the hope that its effect will continue for many more years. He has been implementing the method on a district/community basis for a number of years (see his project at www.basicconcepts.co.za/about/history) and will now expand the project throughout the Northern Cape in cooperation with the provincial Department of Education, organizing a number of workshops and follow-up activities for teachers.

During the project period from early 2019 to the end of 2021, his team will reach about half of the approximately 850 grade R teachers in the province. The project will thereafter be handed over to the Department of Education, which will carry on the initiative until all teachers have been exposed to the method, thus enabling the project to contribute to the education of young schoolchildren in the province over a long time period.

https://www.sylff.org/support_programs/sli/

The Sylff Association Secretariat is pleased to announce that two fellows have been selected for a Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) award in 2018. SLI supports Sylff fellows’ initiatives to change society for the better with awards of up to US$10,000.　

Chosen from among many applicants were Tayseer Abu Odeh, assistant professor at Arab Open University in Jordan, and Jennifer Moore, senior lecturer and law specialist at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Using his professional knowledge and network, Abu Odeh will organize a forum in Jordan, inviting many influential figures in his home country, to develop various measures to stop violence against women.

Moore will develop a questionnaire to evaluate how health organizations are meeting the needs of patients and their families after a medical injury. By use of the questionnaire, her project tries to promote non-litigation approaches to a medical injury, which, Moore feels, tend to lead to much happier forms of resolution.

The Sylff Association Secretariat lauds the time and effort that fellows have invested to turn good ideas into tangible projects. Congratulations to both recipients on winning the award. The two projects will be carried out over the next year, and reports will be posted on this website.

We are looking forward to supporting many more social initiatives that can lead to positive changes in society.