Aberdeen Asset Management (AAM) said yesterday the latest call for entries for a scholarship it supports to send Scottish students to Japan for a year had attracted a record level of interest.
The Thomas Blake Glover Aberdeen Asset Scholarship offers a student from a Scottish university the chance to study Japan’s language, business and culture first hand.
It takes its name from the Buchan-born founding father of the 19th Century industrialisation of Japan.
Dubbed the Scottish Samurai, Thomas Glover, is greatly revered in the Far East country.
Applications to the 2016 scholarship have eclipsed all previous entry levels, with 68 received.
It is double the number who applied last year and the highest number for the Japan Society of Scotland (JSS)-run scheme on record
A JSS spokesman said: “The gender split is fairly even and there are applications from students attending a variety of Scottish universities.
“It seems there is growing awareness among the student fraternity about the tremendous opportunities this scholarship offers up to its winner.”
The scholarship funds travel to Japan for intensive study of the country’s language at the International Christian University (ICU), with preference given to candidates whose interest in Japan has a business focus.
Last year’s winner, Edinburgh University law student Caroline Marshall, spent the summer in Tokyo and described the experience as a dream come true.
She added: “I can’t imagine gaining this kind of experience anywhere else.
“The programme is designed to teach a year of university-level Japanese in six weeks.
“While this sounds daunting, it’s been an exciting and unique opportunity.
“Attending classes were only part of the experience. ICU runs a cultural programme alongside the course, meaning students are given the opportunity to experience many traditional Japanese activities.
“Aberdeen Asset Management and the Japan Society of Scotland have created a milestone in my life that I feel has already set me on a new and exciting path.”
AAM chief executive Martin Gilbert said: “It is encouraging to see a marked increase in the number of applications for this scholarship, which offers an exceptional opportunity to experience Japanese education, industries and lifestyle and an opportunity to forge new partnerships with one of the world’s largest economies.
“The judging panel will have a tough time in the weeks ahead choosing the winning candidate.”