New Colombo Plan

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The New Colombo Plan is an initiative of the Australian Government aimed at increasing exchange in the Indo-Pacific region for Australian university students.^[1] The plan was launched as a signature initiative of the Abbott government's foreign policy in 2014, and was aimed at enhancing the knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia, by supporting Australian undergraduates studying and undertaking internships in the region.^[2] The program consists of two separate grant streams, the New Colombo Plan Scholarship and the New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant.

In 2014, the pilot scheme supported 40 scholars and more than 1300 mobility students to study and undertake work placements. In 2015 the Scheme expanded further across the Indo-Pacific, awarding 69 scholarships and supporting more than 3,100 mobility students. The scheme was continued by the Turnbull government. By 2017, the NCP was supporting around 7,400 mobility students and 105 scholarship recipients.^[3]

The initiative is jointly administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia) and Department of Education (Australia, 2019–2020).