OREANDA-NEWS. The Asian University for Women ("AUW") and Hitachi, Ltd. announced today that Hitachi will sponsor scholarships for three students attending AUW for four years. Hitachi will provide scholarships to these young women for the course of their undergraduate education at AUW-a four-year program in the liberal arts and sciences. Hitachi has pledged to cover tuition, room and board, health insurance, textbooks and supplies, etc. for three students. Selected for their academic excellence and leadership potential, these students come from India (2 students) and Myanmar (1 student).

AUW is a pre-eminent liberal arts university for women in South Asia. They provide higher education to those who do not have the means to afford higher education on their own, but are willing and able to become change-makers in their lives and communities after university.

Through this scholarship program, Hitachi supports these eager and highly-motivated young Asian women, and aims to contribute to solving social issues such as poverty, education and gender inequality in South Asia.

Hitachi is pursuing this goal not only through its social innovation business but also by engaging with and contributing to local communities as a member of the community. Specifically, Hitachi considers education as one of the focus areas of its social contribution activities.

In addition to the Hitachi Scholarship Program for AUW, Hitachi has been promoting several educational initiatives for young generation around the world, one of which is the Hitachi Young Leaders Initiative (HYLI) since 1996. HYLI brings together the outstanding 28 university students for a week from seven participating countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan, who have shown potential to become future leaders. HYLI provides these students with a platform to exchange ideas on pressing issues in Asia.

Yukiko Araki, CSR and Environmental Strategy Division, Hitachi says, "Hitachi holds its Group Vision that states Hitachi delivers innovations that answer society's challenges. We are very pleased to sponsor three young women who have a big dream to contribute to solving their countries' issues including poverty and education. Through high-level education and working hard together with peers at the Asian University for Women, we expect them to acquire a wide range of knowledge in order to realize each of their dreams, and to become prominent leaders to contribute to further prosperity of their countries in the future. Communication with them will help us identify social issues in India and Myanmar, and we would like to connect it to our better business activities. We, Hitachi, will continue to tackle social issues while nurturing Asia's future leaders."

Kamal Ahmad, Founder, Asian University for Women says, "Hitachi's commitment to sponsoring three students at the Asian University for Women demonstrates their understanding of how business and social development intersect. By investing in women who live in the regions where they have operations, Hitachi is cultivating a roster of educated, cross-culturally competent women who can contribute to business endeavors and lead the way for new initiatives that promote growth for both their countries and the companies that work in them. I am delighted to have Hitachi's support as they further prove their dedication to promoting youth education, and I hope other corporations will follow their example."