Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program | HKUST Fok Ying Tung Graduate School

HKUST is one of the first Asian universities chosen by the Bai Xian Asia Institute (BXAI) as a Partner University to offer the Asian Future Leaders Scholarship Program (AFLSP). Since its inception in 2014, BXAI has been supporting up to 10 Bai Xian Scholars at HKUST each year, providing scholarships and enrichment programs for high-caliber Asian students to study abroad, and creates intercultural opportunities for young aspiring leaders to learn from and engage with one another.

A. Eligibility

To be considered for the Scholarship Program, the applicant must meet the following eligibility requirements:

To be admitted to a full-time Master’s program at HKUST
- A MPhil program, or
- A MA, MPM, MPP or MSc program
AND
A non-local student from Asia
- Past Scholars came from Chinese Mainland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Malaysia, The Philippines, Vietnam, and more

B. Selection Criteria

Eligible applicants are assessed based on the following criteria:

Academic performance
Command of English and presentation skills
Appreciation of BXAI’s mission and vision
Propensity for international and intercultural understanding
Desire to positively invest in Asia
Leadership potential
Compassion and service experience

C. Scholarship Package

We expect to recruit 10 Bai Xian Scholars from Asia each year to join our Master’s degree program. The Scholarship consists of a monetary award and an enrichment element, with details shown in C1 and C2 below:

C1. Scholarship Amount

With funding support from BXAI, the Scholarship covers tuition, lodging and daily subsistence costs for the students' study in Hong Kong. The following are the scholarship amounts for 2026/27 intake:

Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

Scholarship⁺ of ~HK$276,500 (US$35,560) per year

from HKUST: ~HK132,400 (US$17,030) per year
from BXAI: ~HK$144,100 (US$18,530) per year

Tenable for 2 years, subject to renewal conditions

⁺ including the prevailing tuition fee and Postgraduate Studentship of the academic year

Master of Arts (MA)/ Master of Public Management (MPM)/ Master of Public Policy (MPP)/ Master of Science (MSc)

Tuition Waiver: HK$97,188 (~US$12,500) per year^#

Stipend: HK$97,188 (~US$12,500) per year

Tenable for 1 to 2 years depending on the normative program duration, subject to renewal conditions

^# The amount of tuition fees that is not covered by the scholarship would be settled by the scholarship awardee.

C2. Specially Designed Enrichment Programs

The BXAI generous support enables enrichment programs to be provided to the Bai Xian Scholars. Students selected to be Bai Xian Scholars have the responsibilities to fulfill specified requirements during their studies at HKUST. The general framework, subject to refinements, is as follows:

Enrolment in and completion of at least one East Asian language course other than the mother tongue language
Taking at least one of the following:
- A recognized credit-bearing course on international relations (Asian-focused) or comparative studies of cross-cultural issues in East Asia (Japan, China and South Korea)
- A special seminar series based on topics relevant to East Asia, specially designed and provided for Bai Xian Scholars
- A credit-bearing research project (East Asia-focused) undertaken by a small group of Bai Xian Scholars
Completion of at least one of the following:
- A non-credit individual research paper on East Asia or international relations
- Recognized leadership training activities
- Recognized study trips/camps
Full participation in the BXAI Summer Program, which spans up to three weeks, at the end of the first year of study
Other mandatory AFLSP programs/activities as stipulated by BXAI and/or HKUST

D. Application Procedures

To indicate your interest for the AFLSP at HKUST, you should complete all of the following by the application deadline:
1. Complete the BXAI-AFLSP application form
2. Follow the steps in the HKUST-AFLSP online application form, and submit the form and materials
AFLSP Application Deadline for 2026/27 Intake: 22 February 2026 (Sunday)
Successful candidates will be notified by the University via email by late April 2026.

E. Tips for AFLSP Applications

Allow ample time. Please allocate sufficient time to fill in your AFLSP application. You will be considered for AFLSP only if you submit both the required forms and your application for admission to selected HKUST Postgraduate Program at the HKUST Online Admission System by the AFLSP application deadline.
Complete the BXAI-AFLSP application form. The BXAI-AFLSP application form is extensive, and it requests information including your personal particulars, education history, concurrent scholarships, extracurricular activities, and requires the completion of four essay questions. You are encouraged to complete this form before you continue with the HKUST-AFLSP online application form.
Submit a short video. You are required to submit a short video (up to 3 minutes), covering an introduction of yourself, reasons for applying to the AFLSP, your aspirations and personal traits etc, in the BXAI-AFLSP application form. Check out the list of Dos/ Don’ts before preparing your video.
Declare concurrent scholarships. You have to declare other concurrent scholarships, tuition waivers, and/or funding support, if any, in the BXAI-AFLSP application form, and attach relevant document(s) with the form. BXAI reserves the right to review the AFLSP awards.
Invite referees. You are also required to invite additional referee(s) who can comment on your performance, experiences, or qualities which are particularly relevant to the AFLSP selection criteria. Please append additional reference letter(s) to your application. The letter(s) should be in English and be issued with the official letterhead of relevant institution.
Prepare for interviews. You will be invited to a face-to-face or video interview by an HKUST panel. There may also be another interview conducted by a BXAI panel.