The New Colombo Plan is an initiative of the Australian Government that lifts knowledge of the Indo Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region.
Margot Harris (2023)
I am delighted to have been selected as a 2026 NCP Scholar for China. I arrived in Chengdu at the end of January to complete one month of Chinese language training. I am currently undertaking an exchange semester at Shanghai Jiaotong University, taking daily Chinese lessons, including in business and financial Chinese. Over July / August, I will undertake an internship, researching how trade and investment between Australia and China can support green technology development and net zero. I will then head to Peking University in Beijing to study finance. I hope that these experiences in various cities will give me insights into life, culture, and business across China. I am very grateful to DFAT and ANU Global Programs for their support.
Hannah Wang (2024)
I am very honoured to share that I was awarded a 2026 New Colombo Plan Scholarship. The NCP Scholarship is a prestigious Australian Government and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade program that supports Australian undergraduates to undertake study, language training, and internships in host locations across the Indo-Pacific, with the aim of strengthening regional knowledge and people-to-people ties. Under this program, I recently commenced study at the National University of Singapore. My experience will include two semesters of coursework, complemented by an internship during the three-month summer break. Alongside this, I will be undertaking intensive Mandarin language training to further develop my spoken fluency. Together, these components will help me build deep regional capability, cross-cultural understanding, and the skills needed to engage meaningfully with the Indo-Pacific throughout my future career.
Harry Bowden (2022)
I am excited to be heading to Singapore and Timor-Leste this year for an exchange and internship program on a New Colombo Plan (NCP) Scholarship. I will be undertaking a semester’s exchange at the National University of Singapore, followed by an internship in Singapore. I will then be heading to Timor-Leste for three months to complete a second internship in the humanitarian engineering sector. One of the goals of the NCP program is to facilitate cultural immersion and to foster personal connections between Australia and the other countries of the Indo-Pacific. To this end, I will also be completing language training in Mandarin while in Singapore and Tetum while in Timor-Leste. I am very grateful to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the opportunity to take on this experience and their generous support. I am looking forward to using this time to create a deeper personal connection to the region, and to develop a better understanding of Australia’s role and future in it.
Congratulations Margot, Hannah and Harry!
