This brochure has been designed to provide general information about the Scholarship Division of The Tokyo Foundation (formerly, the Global Foundation for Research and Scholarship). For further information, please contact:

　

The foundation was established on July 1, 1997 as The Global Foundation for Research and Scholarship. A private, independent foundation governed by independent Boards of Directors and Trustees, the foundation is based in Tokyo, Japan. On May 27, 1999, the foundation officially changed its name to The Tokyo Foundation.

　

Founded to promote and contribute to the betterment of a rapidly changing and increasingly borderless world, the foundation initiates and promotes intellectual activity within the parameters of the social sciences, humanities, and maritime affairs. Its mission is to help ensure that issues of concern to all humankind are addressed in a proactive and timely manner. The foundation also implements programs that foster the creation of innovative ideas and development of leadership.

　

The foundation's mission is pursued through a range of programs and activities in scholarship, research and public relations. Information regarding the research activities is available by facsimile (+81-3-6229-5506), e-mail <research@tkfd.or.jp> and/or web site: http://www.tkfd.or.jp/eng/research/index.html

　

The Scholarship Division is responsible for the foundation's fellowship programs and related activities, which are based upon a transnational, multi-level model that focuses on higher education and professional development. The transnational aspect of its programs and activities are reflected in enhancing mobility and collaboration that transcend the bilateral prototype. The multi-level aspect is demonstrated in its design of programs and activities that are targeted to individuals−graduate students, university faculty and administrators and professionals in specific areas−and institutions. The emphasis on higher education aims at encouraging the development of talented young people with leadership potential and enhancing the internationalization of institutions to not only meet scholarly and student-centered goals but to better fulfill the needs of local, regional and global communities. The focus on professional development is intended to help strengthen the infrastructure of society on local, national, regional and global levels through human resource development via the social sciences and humanities.

　

The two programmatic areas of the Scholarship Division are human resource development and the promotion of the internationalization of higher education. Programs and activities falling within these two areas are described in the next sections.

　

The International Advisory Committee (IAC), comprising the following five international higher education specialists, offer advice and guidance regarding the implementation and assessment of existing programs, and the Scholarship Division's mid- and long-term plans.

　

Caroline A. Matano Yang, Chair, J. William Fulbright Board of Foreign Scholarship (chairperson)

Mikio Kato, Executive Director, International House of Japan (vice chairperson)

Muhammad K. Tadjudin, Chairperson, National Board for Accreditation of Higher Education, Indonesia

Reizo Utagawa, Executive Director, The Nippon Foundation

Hans J.A. van Ginkel, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Rector, United Nations University

　

SYLFF (pronounced as "sylph") is The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund that was established in 1987. Over the past 15 years, 65 universities and consortia in 43 countries have received endowments of US$1 million from The Nippon Foundation. These SYLFF institutions, listed on pages 8 and 9, use the earnings generated from their respective endowments to provide fellowships to promising graduate students in the social sciences and humanities fields to study at their home institutions or abroad. The term "SYLFF program" is frequently used to encompass the entirety of this fellowship program, "SYLFF institutions" to denote universities or groups of institutions that have received an endowment, and "SYLFF fellows" in referring to the nearly 8,500 students who have received fellowships. The Scholarship Division administers the SYLFF Program and its follow-up programs.

　

Follow-up programs, launched in 1994-95, are activities designed to augment the fellowship program by encouraging graduate students, faculty and administrators at different SYLFF institutions to collaborate and further develop their leadership potential through joint activity. The follow-up programs are briefly described below. The Scholarship Division is currently considering the transformation of existing follow-up programs to better meet the needs of SYLFF fellows and institutions. The latest information will be announced on the Foundation's website.