Nippon Paint establishes Gennosuke Obata Fellowship Fund

The NIPSEA Group, otherwise known as Nippon Paint throughout Asia, announced the establishment of the Gennosuke Obata Fellowship Fund at the prestigious Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

The fund will provide financial aid to GSD students in Asia, with the hopes of attracting, enrolling and supporting talented design scholars from the Asian region as they work to become leaders in transforming the social and built environment.

NIPSEA Group Chief Executive Officer Wee Siew Kim said they are humbled to be able to have the opportunity to partner with Harvard University Graduate School of Design to invest into the future generation of design students through the Gennosuke Obata Fellowship. “Nothing can be more rewarding than to be a small part of creating an impact or making a change in the lives of Asian students and returning home bringing with them a better future for themselves and for their country.”

Nippon Paint’s gift of US$300,000 dollars (Php 16,000,000) to establish the Gennosuke Obata Fellowship Fund includes US$50,000 (Php 2.6 million) for immediate use to benefit students at the GSD. The remainder of the gift is invested in the Harvard University Endowment, leveraging these dollars for future support. As part of its “Grounded Visionaries” campaign, the Harvard University GSD has increased the number of student fellowships by over 50 percent, and there are now 24 endowed funds, expanding further the opportunities for talented design students.

The Harvard GSD partnership brings with it an additional program for the regional winners of Asia Young Designer Award (AYDA), rewarding both from the Architecture and Interior Design categories, a six-week, all-expense paid learning opportunity at the Harvard GSD “Design Discovery” program. At the “Design Discovery” program, winners will have the privilege to learn and experience intensive studio work, lectures, workshops and field trips.

Nippon Paint (Coatings) Philippines (NPCP), thus, is very happy to announce this significant development in Nippon Paint’s Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA), a design competition for students NPCP has been doing since 2014.

“This partnership with the Harvard Graduate School of Design provides local student winners an opportunity to learn from one of the best institutes in the world, further enhancing their skills as future professionals that will be responsible in defining and shaping construction projects in the Philippines,” declares Michael Francisco, NPCP General Manager.

Nippon Paint (Coatings) Philippines, Inc. is a paint and coatings specialist under the NIPSEA Group and is the exclusive distributor of Nippon Paint products in the Philippines. The superior Nippon Paint products are dedicated to quality and top-of-the-line innovation and exceptional customer service. For more about Nippon Paint (Coatings) Philippines, Inc., visit www.nipponpaint.ph.