The prestigious Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund scholarships are funded by the Nippon Foundation and administrated by the Tokyo Foundation.


The Sylff program is to provide selected students with the opportunity to take advantage of the various benefits offered by Sylff membership as well as a financial benefit.

The scholarships are offered to full time UNSW Business School PhD students with high potential for future leadership in international affairs, in public life and in private endeavours.

If you are a new PhD student and have been awarded a UNSW Research Excellence Award, a Research Training Program scholarship, or UIPA, you are automatically considered for the Sylff Scholarships. You’ll receive an application form from the Business School Research Office if eligible.

Sylff Fellows

Congratulations to the following recipients who have been awarded Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff).

2024 Fellows

Giuseppe Ibello , PhD in Information Systems and Technology Management

Pesteruwe Cooray, PhD in Information Systems and Technology Management

2023 Fellow

Sacha Da Cunha Soares, PhD in Management and Governance

2022 Fellow

Ayesha Hossain, PhD in Marketing

2021 Fellows

Robert Annabel, PhD in Risk and Actuarial Studies

Huaizhou Li, PhD in Banking and Finance

2020 Fellows

Oscar Osborne, PhD in Information Systems and Technology Management

Roham Rezaei, PhD in Banking and Finance

  • 2019 Fellow

    Lindelwa Ngwenya, PhD in Taxation and Business Law

    2018 Fellow

    Christian Criado-Perez Chanin, PhD in Management

    2017 Fellow

    Emma McDaid, PhD in Accounting

    2016 Fellow

    Asha Gul, PhD in Economics

    2015 Fellows

    Vu Thuy Chi Pham, PhD in Marketing

    Melissa Barden, PhD in Marketing

    Nikolay Gudkov, PhD in Risk & Actuarial Studies

    2014 Fellows

    Courtenay Atwell, PhD in Taxation & Business Law

    Lee Martin, PhD in Management

    2013 Fellows

    Mirjam Goudsmit, PhD in Management

    Mohamed Muheed Jamaldeen, PhD in Economics

    2012 Fellows

    Chung Wain Yuen, PhD in Banking and Finance

    Pavle Radicevic, PhD in Banking and Finance

    2011 Fellows

    Claudia Koon Ghee Wee, PhD in Banking and Finance

    Adeline Tubb, PhD in Economics

    Agne Suziedelyte, PhD in Economics

    Mohammed Hamed Jafarzadeh, PhD in Information Systems, Technology and Management

    2010 Fellows

    Riyadh Al Nahian, PhD in Information Systems, Technology and Management

    Robyn Goodwin, PhD in Organisation and Management

    Theodosia Kalfa, PhD in Organisation and Management

    Dan Liu, PhD in Marketing

    Thanh Xuan Nguyen, PhD in Economics

    Phillia Restiani, PhD in Economics

    2009 Fellows

    Heather Crawford, PhD in Marketing

    Kah Chun Bernard Gan, PhD in Organisation and Management

    Muralikrishnan Radhakrishnan Kartha, PhD in Economics

    Andre Levy, PhD in Banking and Finance

    Xiuyan Mun, PhD in Banking and Finance

    Renuka Sane, PhD in Economics

    Abu Shonchoy, PhD in Economics

    2008 Fellows

    Yuanyuan Gu, PhD in Economics

    Thai Vinh Nguyen, PhD in Economics

    Biljana Nikolova, PhD in Banking and Finance

    Ting Yu, PhD in Marketing

Sylff Program benefits

Sylff Research Abroad

Sylff Research Abroad supports current Sylff fellows in conducting academic research related to their degree dissertation at Sylff institutions overseas as non-degree students. The Tokyo Foundation provides each participant with a stipend of up to US$5,000.

Congratulations to the following fellows who have been awarded a Sylff Research Abroad.

UNSW

Mirjam Goudsmit, PhD in Management

The recipient of a 2013 Sylff Research Abroad award to conduct her research at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

"My research activity during the time abroad included fieldwork, interviews with organisational decision-makers, and discussions with experts. My host institution provided valuable support, such as office facilities and the opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss research with the outstanding faculty and graduate community. I received helpful insights on local business context, theoretical opportunities, and methodology relevant to my research. Findings from this research abroad provided insights into how decision-makers think and talk about their business environment and strategy in the context of Israel. This exploration has led to several observations and preliminary insights that are being put to the test through large-scale investigation via a questionnaire. Positive outcomes of my research abroad experience are enduring with continuing collaborations and inspiration to contribute to scholarship and practice through meaningful high-quality research."

UNSW

Dan Liu, PhD in Marketing

The recipient of a 2010 Sylff Research Abroad award to collect extra data and visit a European university and a Chinese university.

"I have gained new insights from the data collected and from various discussions with academics in the host institutions. The Research Abroad project greatly facilitates exchange of ideas and thoughts, enabling a PhD student to look at his/her research from multiple perspectives. The discussion with well-regarded academics of my research areas adds to the depth of research contributions and even prepares for potential future academic collaborations. Additionally, meetings with senior researchers inspire junior researchers like us to keep pursuing high standard of academic excellence. This would be great importance to the personal development of PhD students."

UNSW

Thanh Xuan Nguyen, PhD in Economics

The recipient of a 2010 Sylff Research Abroad award to conduct his research at a university in Japan.

 "My research experience at Hitotsubashi University has deepened my understanding of the connection between international trade and FDI, specifically in the area of technology transfer. I have benefitted from various discussions with many academics in the host institute, who have published influential papers in top-tier economic journals. During my stay, they have provided me with useful advice which helped me to improve the quality of my doctoral thesis. Furthermore, they have provided many suggestions as to how I could apply the findings of my research to real world settings."

UNSW

Heather Crawford, PhD in Marketing

The recipient of a 2009 Sylff Research Abroad award to visit universities in the US to collect data for her research.

"The funding from Sylff Research Abroad enabled me to complete the final stage of data collection for my PhD dissertation, and to gain insights into the preliminary results of the US data from US academics. Their understanding of the cultural context allowed them to offer possible explanations for the differences observed between the Australian and US results which will strengthen my dissertation and the subsequent journal publications. Their input will be invaluable in developing theoretical and managerial implications for the results of my research project."