July 18, 2018

New Colombo Plan to help students experience culture, opportunities of Indo-Pacific region

UOW receives more than $1 million to fund hundreds of projects

The University of Wollongong has received nearly $1.2 million in funding which will enable students to study throughout the Indo-Pacific.

More than 250 grants and scholarships are available to current students as part of the New Colombo Plan, an Australian Government initiative that aims to boost knowledge of and strengthen ties between Australia and countries throughout the region.

Undergraduate students can take part in internships, mentorships, research, and short- or long-term study placements, at one of 40 host locations, including Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Vietnam, India, and the Pacific Islands.

In the past, the New Colombo Plan has enabled UOW students to experience a range of incredible opportunities throughout the region.

The New Colombo Plan involves a scholarship program for study of up to one year and internships or mentorships, and a flexible mobility grants program for both short and long-term study, internships, mentorships, and research.

Students can take part in projects across a variety of disciplines, including Engineering and Information Technology, Management and Commerce, Health, Education, and Society and Culture.

Grants of between $3000 and $8000 are available to support students to take part in New Colombo Plan mobility grant projects.

Around 11,800 students from 40 universities will be taking part in New Colombo Plan projects this round.

In 2016, Advanced Marine Science student Ella Strachan was one of two UOW students who received a scholarship from the New Colombo Plan, which she used to undertake her honours research year in Fiji.

“The program is a fairly unique way to meet some pretty incredible people and expand my networks in a region that I haven’t had much exposure to,” Ella said at the time.

Fifteen students from UOW have taken part in the New Colombo Plan scholarship program since it was launched in 2014, with hundreds more students seizing the incredible study and travel opportunities available through the mobility grants.