Australia’s best undergraduate students to study in PH

MANILA, Philippines – A prestigious Australian education program is now supporting Australia’s best and brightest undergraduate students to study and undertake internships in the Philippines. In 2015, the program has been expanded to 35 countries in the region. 

“We want to inspire young Australians to be deeply engaged with the region; through the New Colombo Plan, some of our most talented students will have the opportunity not only to learn valuable academic lessons but also to experience working and living in our neighborhood,” Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell said in a statement.

On Monday, April 20, Tweddell lead the launching of the New Colombo Plan, a flagship initiative of the Australian government in the Philippines 

“We celebrate another milestone in our strong and enduring friendship with the Philippines with the launch of this exciting initiative,” Tweddell said.

“I am proud that the Philippines and Australia share a strong value for education, and proud that education continues to draw our people together today.”

Rite of passage 

In the Philippines, around 40 Australian students will participate in the program for 2015.

On Monday, Tweddell officially welcomed the inaugural Philippines Fellow, Emily Pritchard. Under the New Colombo Plan, Pritchard has been awarded a prestigious scholarship to study at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños. She is studying natural and physical sciences as part of her Bachelor of Social Science (Environment)/Bachelor of Environmental Science degree at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).

“Over time, we hope that this sort of experience will become a rite of passage for Australian students and that the networks developed will further strengthen our people-to-people links in the region,” Tweddell said. 

Education has long been an important part of the relationship between the Philippines and Australia. The Philippines was a partner country in the original Colombo Plan, a scholarship program of the Australian Government which saw over 20,000 talented young students from around the region studying in Australian universities and institution from the 1950s to the mid-1980s.

The Colombo Plan has produced distinguished Filipino alumni, including a former Secretary of the Department of Education; a Chancellor of the University of the Philippines-Visayas campus; multiple high-level government officials; and esteemed members of the academe who have pioneered fields of study in the Philippines. – Rappler.com