KU to host Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academic Fellows Program
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas International Short Programs, in collaboration with the School of Business Entrepreneurship team, will host the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academic Fellows Program, focused on innovation, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.
The program is funded by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.
Beginning in September 2025, KU will host 25 young leaders from Southeast Asia in Lawrence for the five-week intensive academic exchange.
The Academic Fellows Program is part of the wider Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, which is the U.S. government’s signature program to strengthen leadership development and networking in Southeast Asia. The YSEALI Academic Fellows Program provides skills training to youth, ages 18 to 25, from 11 countries in Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.
The program is designed to strengthen leadership development across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, deepen engagement with young leaders on key regional and global challenges, and strengthen people-to-people ties between the U.S. and Southeast Asia.
The fellowship brings approximately 500 exceptional young leaders per year to the United States for five-week academic institutes at U.S. universities and colleges. Institutes focus on one of four themes: civic engagement; sustainability and environment; innovation, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment; and society and governance. Institutes include an academic residency, leadership development, an educational study tour and community service activities, and they conclude in Washington, D.C.
During the fellowship, participants learn to design and implement projects to be completed upon returning home and may receive small grants to fund their implementation. Programs occur twice per year, in the fall and spring. To date, the Academic Fellows Program has nearly 2,000 alumni who are actively engaged across the region.
Some highlights of the KU program will include academic sessions with the KU Entrepreneurship and Leadership Studies teams, field trips and service activities in the Lawrence and Kansas City area, and networking opportunities with the KU and Lawrence communities. Specific networking opportunities will be announced closer to the program’s start date.
The Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Academic Fellows Program is a U.S. Department of State program with funding provided by the U.S. government. It is administered by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana.