Australian Ambassador welcomes New Colombo Plan students to Thailand
21 April 2015
Australian Ambassador to Thailand Paul Robilliard yesterday welcomed a group of twelve University of Adelaide business and economic New Colombo Plan mobility students to Mahidol University in Thailand where they will study the Thailand business environment and the growing bilateral economic and trade relationship.
Speaking at the Ambassador Robilliard said “The New Colombo Plan is a priority for the Australian Government. It is a foreign policy initiative that recognises the importance of higher education cooperation and cultural understanding to our collective futures.”
Associate Dean for International Affairs and Networking Assistant Professor Dr Chanuantong Tanasugarn said “having students from Australia where the education quality is high will make our classroom interaction more towards the western side while still being in the Asian context. Our plan is to increase the number of partnerships with Australian universities and this mobility program can be a starting point to extend these networks and relationships.”
Around 160 Australian students have been selected to study in Thailand in 2015 under the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan.
The New Colombo Plan aims to aims to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region, and as a way to deepen people-to-people links at the individual and institutional levels. It will further strengthen efforts by the Australian Embassy to lift awareness in Australia of the educational opportunities available in Thailand.
The students in the Thailand program come from ten universities across five Australian states and territories and a wide range of disciplines. They will undertake study, study tours and work placements in institutions and work places across Thailand. They are among more than 3,000 students who will live, study and work in the Indo-Pacific region under the New Colombo Plan in 2015.
The Australian Government has committed AUD 100 million in new funding over five years to implement the New Colombo Plan.
For more information on the NCP visit www.dfat.gov.au/new-colombo-plan
Australian New Colombo Plan students in Thailand: Australian Ambassador to Thailand HE Mr Paul Robilliard (centre) and senior executives at the Mahidol University and Mahidol University International College, representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education, Thailand, and the New Colombo Plan students from the University of Adelaide, at a reception hosted by MUIC on 20 April 2015.