Supporting Young Researchers: Hokkaido's Tsukushi Scholarship Reaches 400 Recipients Sponsored

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A scholarship program established by Sapporo-based biotech company Amino Up provides much-needed aid to young researchers in medical and pharmaceutical studies. The program is called the Tsukushi Scholarship and Research Foundation, and funds are awarded regardless of nationality. 

Current and former recipients gathered at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the International Congress on Nutrition and Integrative Medicine (ICNIM) held in Sapporo in July 2024. Interviews with the scholars revealed the challenges they face in balancing their daily life and research activities. 

Balancing Family and Research

On July 19, about 100 current scholars, alumni, and stakeholders gathered in Sapporo. One of the scholars presenting was YaleGemu, a 25-year-old first-year master's student at Hokkaido Information University and a Tsukushi Scholarship recipient. He opened with a message of gratitude to the foundation. Hailing from Inner Mongolia, China, YaleGemu's research topic is "Analysis of the Relationship Between Health Literacy and Health Status of Local Residents, and Development of an App Applying Nudge Theory to Improve Health Literacy".

YaleGemu told the story of how he came to Japan to research how behavioral changes could prevent brucellosis. A disease that frequently occurs in Mongolia where livestock farming is prevalent, brucellosis is caused by insufficient heating of meat and milk and is linked to a lack of awareness. 

YaleGemu came to Japan as a self-financed exchange student. He studied at a Japanese language school in Saitama, supported by funds from his family. Then he attended an undergraduate course at Rakuno Gakuen University in Hokkaido. After graduation, he worked at a private company for a year to save money to pay for graduate school himself.

Now married with a three-year-old son, YaleGemu explained that the scholarship allows him to reduce his part-time work from four or five days a week to just two.

Continue reading the full story on Japan 2 Earth to read more about how the Tsukushi Scholarship is helping students, both Japanese and non-Japanese, succeed in science.

And find more great articles on the environment and the challenges of achieving the SDGs on our affiliated website Japan 2 Earth (J2E), sparking a transition to a sustainable future.

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(Read the article in Japanese.)

Author: Mika Sugiura