CDU secures funding for students’ overseas study

Almost $300,000 in Australian Government grants will support 93 Charles Darwin University students to study overseas next year.

The New Colombo Plan Mobility Program grants will help students to travel to selected countries in the Indo Pacific region to complete study components as part of their courses.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Simon Maddocks said CDU was successful in securing the grants from among more than 1000 applications submitted nationally.

Professor Maddocks said CDU had well-established relationships with education providers in the region, through university partnerships and research collaborations, and he was delighted that such a large number of CDU students would have experiences with some of these institutions.

“The Mobility Program will assist students in developing their skills and their understanding of our overseas neighbours, which will in turn strengthen Australia’s ties with the region,” Professor Maddocks said.

Funding will support programs for midwifery students in Bali, law students in China and the Philippines, humanitarian and community studies students in Timor-Leste, and education students in Cambodia and the Philippines.

The program also will assist 10 Indigenous pre-service teachers to complete their teacher placements in Timor-Leste, through the Growing Our Own program.

Another 10 students will take part in the China In-Country language program, which is a collaboration with Flinders University.

Multi-year programs currently underway, including programs with Engineers Without Borders in India and programs for law and environmental science students in Indonesia, also received grant funding.

The New Colombo Plan aims to deepen Australia’s relationships in the Indo Pacific by supporting undergraduate students to study in the region.