A student from the University of Aberdeen will swap Scottish culture for the Japanese way of life when he takes part in a three-week international exchange trip later this week.
Stuart Kennedy (22), will spend three weeks in Nagasaki on a study tour from Saturday, March 26, until Sunday, April 17, where he will act as an ambassador for the University, the City, and the North East.
Stuart, who is in his third year of a B.S.c Genetics with Industrial Placement degree at Aberdeen, has been selected as the 2004-05 Thomas Blake Glover Scholar. The scholarship was awarded jointly by the Rotary Club of Balgownie, and the University of Aberdeen and will fund Stuart’s research trip to Nagasaki, a small port city in the south of the country.
Stuart, who lives in Old Aberdeen but is originally from Peterhead, said he was delighted to be chosen for the scholarship. He said: “I’m hoping to thoroughly immerse myself in real Japanese life.
“I will be meeting and greeting the Rotary Clubs of Nagasaki, the Mayor of Nagasaki and other dignitaries, and touring the area and local businesses to view first-hand the city’s industries. I will also be speaking publicly and conducting presentations on the University, the North-East, Scottish culture, Glover and my own work.”
Stuart will also have to prepare a report based principally on what he has learned while in Nagasaki, and has opted to choose a topic related to his degree.
He said: “My report will have a medical theme in contrast to previous Glover Scholars who have chosen management and business subjects for study.”
Before jetting off to Japan Stuart has met with members of the Rotary Club of Balgownie, and the Lord Provost of Aberdeen John Reynolds, for whom he will carry a letter to the Mayor of Nagasaki.
During his time in Japan Stuart will stay in accommodation with a host family and, despite some nervousness about the trip, he is looking forward to the experience: “I’m slightly apprehensive about the language and cultural barriers, but I know I am definitely up to the task. I hope to gain enormously from the experience of being involved in a very different and fascinating culture.”
Although the trip will be Stuart’s first visit to Japan, he’s no stranger to overseas travel having studied for a year in the US at a small private college in Southern Minnesota in 2002.
“I enjoy travelling and I want to ‘taste’ more of the world, so I’m looking forward to my visit to Japan immensely,” he added.
“I’m also hoping to gain academically, and this scholarship has given me the chance to demonstrate that I am independent, motivated and experienced by pursuing and completing the scholarship.”
“This scholarship is an ideal way of developing the Rotary objective of fostering international friendship” said Andrew Jackson, president of Balgownie Rotary Club. “It also commemorates Glover himself. He brought students to visit Britain to develop their understanding of the West at a time when this was still illegal in Japan – and one of them subsequently became the Japanese Prime Minister.”