The ANU Research School of Electrical, Energy and Materials Engineering (RSEEME) has won Australian Government funding to help students study overseas under the New Colombo Plan in 2017.
The funding will give 12 undergraduate students from the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science the opportunity to travel overseas where they will participate in two humanitarian engineering projects.
The first project will enable ten students to attend the Engineers Without Borders Australian Humanitarian Design Summit in India, where they will further develop skills and learn about engineering, design and humanitarian projects.
The second project will give two students the chance to travel to Laos as part of their final year research project. While in Laos they will work with community development organisation Abundant Water, established by ANU engineering alumni Sunny Forsyth, to improve water treatment.
These projects have been developed in the wake of increasing student interest in humanitarian engineering, with a considerable uptake in student enrolments for the Engineering for a Humanitarian Context course - the first of its kind in Australia. ANU Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt said the 12 grants allocated to RSEEME as part of the University’s total funding package of $750,000 was a wonderful result for ANU.
“The New Colombo Plan mobility program grants will give more students the opportunity to go overseas and broaden their experience during their time at ANU,” he said.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, said the New Colombo Plan was designed to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific by supporting Australian undergraduate students to live, study and do internships in the region.
“The New Colombo Plan has proven to be transformative, providing life changing opportunities for Australia’s future leaders, with many participants reporting that the New Colombo Plan has given their academic and career aspirations a greater regional focus,” Ms Bishop said.
“Through these students, a new generation of Australians will gain an in-depth knowledge of our region along with professional and personal networks to drive Australia’s future prosperity.”
For more information about the NCP Grants, visit the ANU Global Opportunities page.