PA/17/17 28 November 2017
New Colombo Plan 2018 Scholars Announced
The Australian Government awarded New Colombo Plan scholarships to four Australian undergraduates to live, study and undertake internships in India in 2018.
Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Ms Harinder Sidhu, said the New Colombo Plan would help create a generation of young Australians with an understanding of India and experience of living, learning and working alongside people from other cultures.
“These students are among Australia’s most talented emerging leaders, and they will come home with new perspectives, insights and skills after their experience in India,” Ms Sidhu said.
“Living and learning alongside young people from India will create enduring bonds of friendship and understanding. It will help build a future of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.”
New Colombo Plan 2018 India scholars are:
· Nicholas McConville (Deakin University)
· Geoffrey Flugge (Australian National University)
· Serge Nassif (Macquarie University)
· Zachary Wolff (The University of Sydney).
New Colombo Plan 2018 India scholars will study a broad range of disciplines including trade and corporate law, international relations, and mathematics and data analysis at O.P Jindal University, University of Calcutta, India University, and University of Delhi.
Scholars will also gain invaluable practical experience of Indian workplaces through internships with private sector organisations such as Centre for Law and Policy Research in Bangalore and Arya.ai, an economic think tank and artificial intelligence start-up based in Mumbai.
After their New Colombo Plan experience, the 2018 scholars, along with 13,000 New Colombo Plan 2018 mobility students, will become part of the New Colombo Plan alumni. By the end of its fifth year, the alumni will comprise 30,000 talented young Australians with enduring connections to the Indo-Pacific region.