Seven Macquarie students are preparing to make the journey of a lifetime after being named among the 2023 cohort of New Colombo Plan Scholars.

The prestigious New Colombo Plan (NCP) is an Australian Government initiative and scholar program that fosters connections in the Indo-Pacific by offering young Australians the chance to study and engage with the region. In addition to receiving up to $50,000 to support their participation in the study abroad program, recipients are given the opportunity to undertake a wide range of career development opportunities, including internships, mentorships and language training.

Macquarie is thrilled to have seven of its undergraduate students named among the elite cohort of New Colombo Scholars for 2023 by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Facilitated by the University’s mobility team, our students received bespoke coaching and support in applying for the highly competitive program.

Macquarie is proud to see our 2023 NCP scholars representing such a diverse range of study disciplines, with majors spanning security studies, law, political economy, and earth and environmental sciences.

Meet our 2023 New Colombo Plan Scholars

• Jackson Bradney, Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy)/Bachelor of Laws, will be traveling to New Caledonia to study law at the University of Nouvelle Calédonie. Jackson will also receive language training in Kanak and French, and undertake an internship with the Pacific Community’s (SPC) Human Rights and Social Development Group in Timor-Leste.

• Nidhi Chowkira, Bachelor of Arts (Political Economy)/Bachelor of Laws, will be going to India to study law at the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru. Nidhi will also be interning with the Centre for Law and Policy Research and Infosys in India, and at the Australian High Commission and international law firms in Malaysia.

• Charlotte Greet, Bachelor of Arts (Political Economy)/Bachelor of Laws, will travel to Vanuatu to study law at the University of the South Pacific (Emalus Campus), in addition to receiving language training in Bislama and Nauruan. Charlotte will also be completing internships with the Vanuatu Women’s Centre and at the Office of Human Rights in Nauru.

• Joseph Lewellyn Mayer, Bachelor of Security Studies/Bachelor of Laws, will study international humanitarian law and anti-human trafficking at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Cambodia, as well as language training in Khmer at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Joseph is set to receive a mentorship from INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau and will undertake internships with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Australian Embassy in Cambodia and Legal Aid of Cambodia.

• Chloe Luzar, Bachelor of Science (Earth and Environmental Sciences)/Bachelor of Laws, is set to travel to Tonga to attend the University of the South Pacific. She will receive language training in Tongan to support her travels and will undertake internships with SPC in its Geoscience, Energy and Maritime Division in Tonga. Chloe will also be going to the Cook Islands for an internship with the National Environmental Service (NES) and to Samoa, where she will intern for the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme and receive mentorship from one of its representatives.

• Adinda Peyra, Bachelor of Advanced Science (Earth and Environmental Sciences), will be making her way to Australia’s closest neighbour, Papua New Guinea, to study in Port Moresby at the University of Papua New Guinea. She will be completing internships at the Indonesian Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation and the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior in Japan. Adinda is also set to complete language training in Tok Pisin, Bahasa Indonesia and Japanese.

• Claudia Wijaya, Bachelor of Arts (Political Economy)/Bachelor of Laws, will travel to Indonesia to study international law at Universitas Gadjah Mada, as well as receive training in the country’s official language, Bahasa Indonesia. She will be interning at Mitra Wacana in Yogyakarta, an organisation aimed at supporting justice and gender equality with a particular focus on women’s rights, and at LBH Masyarakat in Jakarta, a free legal aid service for underprivileged and marginalised communities. Claudia is also set to be mentored by Lia Marpaung, Gender, Disability and Social Inclusion Adviser at DFAT’s Indonesia Australia Awards.