Indonesia – Genevieve
Student: Genevieve
Course: Bachelor of International Studies (Global Scholar)
Program: Short-Term Exchange 2019
2019 New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant Recipient
2023 New Colombo Plan Alumni Ambassador
Whilst I was completing my Bachelor of International Studies (Global Scholar) degree, I was able to participate in Deakin’s Indonesian In-Country Language Program at the end of 2019 with the assistance of a New Colombo Plan mobility grant.
For six weeks, myself and nine others attended Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim in Malang, Indonesia. It was there that I was able to fully immerse myself into life of an Indonesian university student.
I really want to emphasise that it would not have been possible to undertake such a program without the assistance of the New Colombo Plan mobility grant.
Furthermore, my language skills improved tremendously during this 6-week intensive language program, and it really cemented the vision that I could one day teach this language to others.
At the end of last year, I was privileged to attend an in-person NCP alumni ambassador orientation in Sydney. Over two days I mingled with New Colombo Plan alumni ambassadors from all over Australia and we networked with people from DFAT, local businesses and other important stakeholders.
It was absolutely fantastic to meet and spend time with a group of like-minded young people. I noticed how although we were all at different stages in our academic journeys, we all shared one thing in common, and that was the desire to strengthen ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific region.