Murdoch University students will be able broaden their horizons in the Indo-Pacific in 2020 thanks to funding from the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan (NCP) Mobility Program.
The University has been allocated $171,600 to support 52 students from across disciplines to take part in five projects in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Bhutan and India.The students will spend between two and four weeks in each of the countries working on initiatives which will benefit those communities and increase their knowledge of this important region.
Murdoch University Deputy Vice Chancellor International Lyn Karstadt said the New Colombo Plan had already benefited 443 Murdoch students through exchanges and field programs, and had helped Murdoch establish partnerships with other universities and industries in the region.
Studying and applying their knowledge abroad helps our students to explore the countries they are based in more deeply, providing them with a new level of social, cultural and environmental understanding which will serve them well beyond university,” Professor Karstadt said.Among the new initiatives funded by the NCP will be a project based in Kerala, southern India which will involve five environmental engineering students improving organic waste management systems.
Ten games art and design students will work with Salvation Army Singapore and Murdoch’s SCRIPT (Singapore Centre for Innovation, Productivity and Technology) to develop cross cultural rebranding of the organisation.
In Vietnam, 12 nursing students will be supported in clinical placements in the Vinh Long Provincial Health Department, and in Bhutan, 10 community development students will be working with Indigenous communities.
Environmental science students will also have the chance to visit Borneo to learn more about South East Asian nature-based tourism.
Security, Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism studies student Chelsea Lee who went on exchange to the City University of Hong Kong in 2018 thanks to the NCP, said the experience had given her the opportunity to travel, make new friends and revel in new found independence.
“It was my first time living out of home and it taught me a lot of things,” said Chelsea.“It made me appreciate the life I have back in Perth, and also the opportunities I have been afforded, such as being able to go on exchange to another country!
“It seemed like the right decision to choose somewhere in Asia because I love learning about all kinds of cultures that are so different to my own.
"The classes were really interesting because the political ‘tensions’ between Hong Kong and Mainland China were issues I was not fully aware of until I started taking my classes at City University.”
The NCP 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.