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Dundee Student awarded opportunity to study in Japan with the 2011 Thomas Blake Glover Aberdeen Asset Scholarship

A Dundee student has been awarded the 2011 Thomas Blake Glover Aberdeen Asset Scholarship. Twenty three year old Jen Rourke, currently in her final year at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at the University of Dundee, will be funded by the business scholarship to study at the International Christian University of Tokyo this summer.

The Thomas Blake Glover Aberdeen Asset Scholarship is a charitable fund which enables Scottish students to study both the Japanese language and culture at intensive university summer schools in Japan. Jen becomes the first Dundonian to receive the scholarship.

An outstanding student, who was awarded the Armistead Bursary in 2009 for achieving the highest grade in her year and the Cross Trust Arts Vacation Award – a travel bursary - in 2010, Jen was educated at Monifieth High School in Dundee. She will graduate this summer with a BA Hons in illustration and aims to study for a Masters. Jen has participated in Japanese for beginners classes and has specialised in Japanese art and culture, writing her dissertation on woodblock printing. She plans a career promoting Japanese arts in the west.

Martin Gilbert, chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management, which supports the scholarship says, “The scholarship is open to young Scots who are at post secondary educational level and we give p reference to candidates who have a business focus in their interest in Japan. Jen fits this profile perfectly. Even at the age of 23, you can see that she is a high achiever, and I have no doubt that Jen will maximise the chances which this opportunity will bring her. At Aberdeen Asset Management we are proud to support initiatives which give young, enthusiastic Scots such a start to their professional careers.”

Jen Rourke, who will travel to Japan in July, says, “This is such a wonderful opportunity for me. I have a deep interest in the cultural links between Japan and Scotland. The Thomas Blake Glover Aberdeen Asset Scholarship gives me the chance to learn the Japanese language which will allow me to develop relationships with museums and galleries. Being able to speak the language will be of huge benefit to me in my future career.”

Chairman of the Japan Society of Scotland, Professor Stuart Picken explains that the scholarship panel found Jen to be a natural selection for the 2011 scholarship. “Jen’s enthusiasm and passion for all things Japanese shone through. This scholarship is designed to give an outstanding young graduate or undergraduate the chance to develop language skills and to experience the Japanese way of life, so that they can pursue their careers with a level of knowledge and understanding which marks them out from their peers. The panel is confident that Jen will make the most of the new skills and insight she will gain in Japan this summer.”

Named in recognition of the Scottish entrepreneur Thomas Blake Glover who was born in Aberdeenshire in 1838, the scholarship is sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management. Glover settled in Nagasaki in 1859 where he established an agency for his employers, the Scottish trading house, Jardine, Matheson and Co. He played a critically important in opening Japan to the west and became known as the Scottish Samurai . He introduced the first railway locomotive to Japan and started the Kirin brewery. He influenced the development of Mitsubishi as an industrial conglomerate.

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