Australian Office

The New Colombo Plan in 2016

On 28 August 2015, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop and Minister for Education and Training Christopher Pyne released details of the 461 mobility projects that will be funded in 2016 under the New Colombo Plan.

We are excited to announce that in 2016, 130 New Colombo Plan Students will travel to Taiwan! They will join 15 different mobility projects covering a diverse range of disciplines, from creative arts, language and cultural studies, to engineering, political science and urban design.

The New Colombo Plan is a signature initiative of the Australian Government to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific by supporting Australian undergraduate students to study and undertake internships in our region.

Speaking at the University of Western Australia, Minister Bishop announced that 38 universities and 11 university consortia would receive funding from the Australian Government to send more than 5450 students to 28 locations throughout the Indo-Pacific in 2016.

“Australian universities have continued to provide strong support for the New Colombo Plan mobility program and the opportunities it provides for Australian students to undertake short term and semester length study in our region,” Minister Bishop said.

“Around 75 per cent of funded projects already involve an internship, practicum or other form of work-based placement or industry engagement.”