About the New Colombo Plan
The New Colombo Plan is a signature initiative of the Australian Government which aims to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region.
It encourages a two-way flow of students between Australia and the rest of our region, complementing the thousands of students from the region coming to Australia to study each year.
The New Colombo Plan is intended to be transformational, deepening Australia's relationships in the region, both at the individual level and through expanding university, business and other links.
Over time, the Australian Government wants to see study in the Indo-Pacific region become a rite of passage for Australian undergraduate students, and as an endeavour that is highly valued across the Australian community.
To date, the New Colombo Plan is supporting students to study and undertake internships across the Indo-Pacific from Pakistan in the west to Mongolia in the north, and the Cook Islands in the east.
The New Colombo Plan pilot year of 2014 supported 40 scholars and more than 1300 mobility students to study and undertake work placements across four pilot locations.
In 2015 the New Colombo Plan built on this success, expanding the program across the Indo-Pacific region and awarding 69 scholarships and supporting more than 3,100 mobility students.
The program continued to grow in 2016, supporting more than 5450 mobility students and 100 scholars to live, study and undertake work placements in the region.
In 2017, the NCP is supporting around 7,400 mobility students and 105 scholarship recipients.
This will bring the total number of students funded by the New Colombo Plan to around 17,500 in the first four years of the program.
The Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd) is the official Patron of the New Colombo Plan.
For more information, please visit: http://dfat.gov.au/people-to-people/new-colombo-plan/about/Pages/about.aspx