New Colombo Scholarships send Deakin students to the Indo-Pacific

The Deakin students were among 120 New Colombo Plan Scholarship recipients from 33 Australian universities announced last night by Foreign Affairs Minister the Hon. Julie Bishop and Education and Training Minister the Hon. Simon Birmingham in Canberra.

Launched in 2014, the overseas study program encourages international cooperation with Australia's regional neighbours, giving the next generation of Australians a hands-on experience living and working within other cultures as part of the global community.

From PE teaching in Vanuatu to architecture in Indonesia, marine research in Japan to mental health placements in India, each of the Deakin recipients will undertake a year-long overseas study experience and internships with industry leaders across the Indo-Pacific region.

Deakin students Alana Bird, Stephanie Hill, Maxi Peyton Jerram-Snell, Hafi Khan, Kieran Maguire and Theone van der Merwe were awarded scholarships for 2018, with top-ranked candidates Kate Lowe, Nicholas McConville and Siobhan Strickland given the additional honour of being named New Colombo Plan Fellows.

Deakin University Vice-Chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander congratulated the students on their achievement and thanked the Australian Government for its support.

"We are confident that each of Deakin's New Colombo Plan Scholarship recipients will make a meaningful contribution, developing academic, institutional and personal networks during their scholarship, and we look forward to following their year of discovery and growth," Professor den Hollander said.

"The opportunity to study, live and work outside of Australia will give this group of students the chance to place their career goals in a global context, while equipping them for the jobs of the future.

"This is a recognition of their academic excellence and engagement in the community, and we are very proud for this group of dedicated students to represent Deakin University throughout the Indo-Pacific region."

The Australian Government's signature New Colombo Plan will have enabled more than 30,000 students to study and work in the Indo-Pacific region by the end of 2018, including more than 430 recipients funded through the Plan's prestigious scholarship program.