FREEMAN FOUNDATION ASIAN FELLOWSHIP

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FOUR MBAS. FOUR WEEKS IN ASIA.
ONE LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE.

FOUR MBAS. FOUR WEEKS IN ASIA. ONE LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE.

Through the generosity of the Freeman Foundation, the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) is pleased to offer the Freeman Foundation Asian Fellowship Program. The goal of this program is to provide MBA students with an immersive, independent, entrepreneurial project in an Asian country, so that they may apply their classroom knowledge to tackle real-world problems. It is designed with a win-win approach—foreign startups benefit from pro bono, business consultation services, while students gain hands-on educational experiences and expand their network with Asian business executives.

Number of Students: A team of four Shidler College of Business MBA students are selected each summer.
Duration: The program is 6–8 weeks long and runs between May and August with four weeks immersed in-country.
Cost: Thanks to the Freeman Foundation, PACE is able to offer a competitive fellowship to subsidize education, travel, and living expenses abroad.
Course Credits: Students must enroll in BUS 699 – Directed Studies course.
Types of Projects: The team shall serve as consultants and produce work including market feasibility analyses, financial projections, and strategic business and expansion planning. The team would be supervised by the PACE Executive Director through in-person and video conference meetings. Upon completion of the project, the team shall present its findings and recommendations to the client.

Due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions in Asia, this program will not be available in Summer 2022.

Apply Here

“The Fellowship has been the most valuable piece of my education so far at Shidler. I feel that having had the experience of working and living abroad will benefit me in many ways both in my coursework, my professional life, and most importantly my personal life; this experience has given me a larger connection with all of our roles as global citizens.”

-Janelle Bremer, 2018 Freeman Fellow

“This was truly one of the most valuable experiences both professionally and personally. I learned about myself and gained confidence that I am able to utilize what I have learned in school to help a business.”

-Sarah Ann Ota, 2018 Freeman Fellow

“Going to Japan on the Freeman Foundation Fellowship through PACE has been the highlight of my graduate school career thus far. I will use this experience to bring to life the lessons in my classes and hopefully offer a new perspective on Japanese business and startup culture. I have built local and international friendships and connections that I will undoubtedly utilize throughout my career.”

– Jordan Ozaki, 2018 Freeman Fellow

“This is an amazing program that I believe any MBA student will benefit from. The opportunity to have real-life application of things learned throughout the first year of the program is incredibly important and allows students to gain valuable experience which would be possibly unattainable if not through a fellowship.”

– Tiffany Yoshida, 2018 Freeman Fellow

“The Fellowship has been the most valuable piece of my education so far at Shidler. I feel that having had the experience of working and living abroad will benefit me in many ways both in my coursework, my professional life, and most importantly my personal life; this experience has given me a larger connection with all of our roles as global citizens.”

-Janelle Bremer, 2018 Freeman Fellow

“This was truly one of the most valuable experiences both professionally and personally. I learned about myself and gained confidence that I am able to utilize what I have learned in school to help a business.”

-Sarah Ann Ota, 2018 Freeman Fellow

“Going to Japan on the Freeman Foundation Fellowship through PACE has been the highlight of my graduate school career thus far. I will use this experience to bring to life the lessons in my classes and hopefully offer a new perspective on Japanese business and startup culture. I have built local and international friendships and connections that I will undoubtedly utilize throughout my career.”

– Jordan Ozaki, 2018 Freeman Fellow

“This is an amazing program that I believe any MBA student will benefit from. The opportunity to have real-life application of things learned throughout the first year of the program is incredibly important and allows students to gain valuable experience which would be possibly unattainable if not through a fellowship.”

– Tiffany Yoshida, 2018 Freeman Fellow

PAST FREEMAN FELLOWS

2019 FREEMAN FELLOWS

In 2019, MBA students (L to R) Christopher Branyord, Philipp Steinmueller, and Andrew Petty conducted feasibility analyses, and prepared marketing and strategy plans for the overseas expansion of Tech Kichi, a Japan-based startup that teaches coding through the use of programmable robots.

2018 FREEMAN FELLOWS

In 2018, MBA students (L to R) Tiffany Yoshida, Jordan Ozaki, Sarah Ann Ota, and Janelle Bremer were selected to assist The Company, a Japan-based firm that operates shared office and co-working spaces in Fukuoka prefecture, with its expansion plans into Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and U.S. The students spent four weeks on site at The Company. Each team member prepared a marketing plan for one of the four new country locations. The scope of work included developing competitor analyses, pricing strategies, customer segmentation and marketing implementation plans. To accomplish this task, each team member paired with a mentor from The Company who was directly involved in their particular country expansion planning.

2017 FREEMAN FELLOWS

In 2017, MBA students Lane Opulauoho, Reed Sakamoto and Blake Ishizu were sent to Tokyo, the capital city of Japan. During their four-week stay, the team worked closely with an innovative tech company to expand their robotic product to the U.S. market. Through analysis of potential customer segments and stakeholders, the team provided the company with an in-depth identification of U.S. channels to consider.

2016 FREEMAN FELLOWS

For the second summer in a row, PACE sent a team of graduate students to Vietnam for a month to work on an entrepreneurial project. MBA students Amanda Anderson, Charles Bowen, Adrian Catalan, and Jori-Anne Jasper conducted due diligence, interviewing more than 35 executives, to develop a business model for a company looking to make investments in educational opportunities, specifically in English and distance education.

2015 FREEMAN FELLOWS

In summer 2015, JD/MBA students Lauren Kurashige and Tuan La, along with, Vietnam Executive MBA (VEMBA) students Jack Hua and Erin Hoang Anh Nguyen collaborated over the course of six weeks to complete a feasibility analysis for a Vietnamese angel investment network for Shidler College of Business VEMBA alumni. With a network of almost 400 graduates working in various senior management positions in Vietnam, the Freeman Fellows found that this group possesses the business acumen, net worth, and network needed in an angel network. Moreover, the Fellows found that the alumni are enthusiastic and supportive of the creation of such a network.

phone: (808) 956-5083

fax: (808) 956-5107

email: pace@hawaii.edu

ABOUT PACE

FREEMAN FOUNDATION ASIAN FELLOWSHIP

FOUR MBAS. FOUR WEEKS IN ASIA.
ONE LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE.

FOUR MBAS. FOUR WEEKS IN ASIA. ONE LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE.

Due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions in Asia, this program will not be available in Summer 2022.