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).
2025 Fellows
Ozlem Beldan, PhD in Management and Governance
Vartan Bal, PhD in Marketing
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
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."