Uniqlo sets ups Harvard scholarships

Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo is to offer fellowships for Japanese students studying at Harvard University Graduate School of Design

and the Harvard Business School.

There will be one fellowship per school, which will be available to Japanese students who have been accepted into the GSD and who have not been sponsored by another organisation or corporation. The fellowship programme will start in September 2015 and will award a total of 600,000 dollars over the next three years.

The scholarships will provide promising individuals, regardless of their financial circumstances, the opportunity to become world leaders in the design field, and will be personally funded by Tadashi Yanai, chairman, president, and CEO of Uniqlo holding company Fast Retailing.

Commenting on the fellowships, Tadashi Yanai said, “Innovation lies at the intersection of design and business management. I look forward to seeing talented young people from Japan transform their aspirations into reality on the global stage.”

Recipients will be chosen through interviews with Yanai and Toyo Ito, a frequent visiting instructor at the GSD, and application review. In addition to the fellowship, Fast Retailing will also offer fellowship recipients enrolment in its internship program while they are studying abroad.