La Trobe University is celebrating after a record number of La Trobe students were awarded New Colombo Plan Scholarships.
The prestigious Federal Government scholarships support Australian undergraduate students to live, work, study and immerse themselves in the Indo-Pacific region.
This year attracted the highest number of applicants, with five La Trobe students selected to receive generous scholarships to further their studies and enrich their lives overseas for up to one year.
La Trobe Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International) Professor Richard Speed congratulated the students on successfully navigating an incredibly challenging and competitive application, interview and selection process.
"These talented, articulate and ambitious La Trobe students are about to embark on a life-changing adventure that will both broaden and deepen their knowledge of their chosen fields, as well as enable them to experience life and learn a language among the diverse cultures of our region," Professor Speed said.
"Our New Colombo Plan Scholars will gain valuable insights that will benefit them professionally and personally throughout their lives, and I wish them all the best for their exchange."
The successful La Trobe students, who will undertake their travels when it is safe to do so, are:
Hammad Shahin, B Laws / International Relations, Scholarship to ACICIS - Parahyangan Catholic University, Indonesia then the National University of Singapore
"I'm so grateful because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone and an experience I know will pave the way for my future ambitions. Every previous New Colombo Plan Scholar I have personally met or engaged with online has testified to how life-changing their scholarship experience has been for them and I still can't believe that I'm going to be able to live that experience instead of just hearing about it," said Hammad, a proud member of the Syrian-Lebanese and Australian Alawi Muslim communities.
Ebony Watts, B Education (Secondary), NCP Fellow for Japan, Scholarship to Kyushu University, Japan
Ebony plans to become a history teacher, and said the scholarship will enable her to gain first-hand experience of being fully immersed in another culture.
"Finding out I was successful has changed my perspective on the importance of educators on an international scale. One day, when I teach history in Australia, I want to be able to authentically and confidently cover the history of a variety of cultures," said Ebony, a student at La Trobe's Bendigo Campus.
Nathan Grigg, B Engineering Honours (Industrial), Scholarship to study in Japan
Nathan said he was ecstatic to be taking up his scholarship
