New Colombo Plan news

A New Colombo Plan mobility study tour to Fiji has helped a group of Australian undergraduates gain a deeper appreciation of their own Indigenous culture.

Myles Kreis is a long way from his family's Gayndah beef property. His hometown, in south-west Queensland, is about 360km north of Brisbane and 145km west of Maryborough. It's about as different as you can get from his current city – Seoul – a metropolis of more than 10 million people.

New Colombo Plan China scholar Harrison See, from Edith Cowan University, has always been interested in exploring cultural identity through his work.

Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon Julie Bishop MP, has appointed 14 New Colombo Plan Business Champions to continue strengthening connections with the private sector.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, and Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, have announced 120 New Colombo Plan scholarships to talented undergraduates to live, study and work in the Indo-Pacific region in 2018.

According to Chairman and CEO of Mitsui & Co. Australia, Mr Yukio Takebe: "The New Colombo Plan gives us a way of giving back to Australia, which has hosted us so hospitably over the decades."

Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon Julie Bishop MP, has launched the New Colombo Plan alumni ambassadors program and announced 39 students have been selected as Ambassadors.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Julie Bishop MP and Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham have announced the successful applicants for grants under the 2018 New Colombo Plan mobility program.

Six University of the Sunshine Coast civil engineering students recently spent an unforgettable week in rural Laos lending their skills to a unique project to protect Lao wildlife.

Until last year, mature age electronic engineering student and New Colombo Plan scholar Rebecca Thorburn had never traveled out of Victoria by herself, let alone overseas.