Abstract
The New Colombo Plan (NCP) has become a cornerstone of Australia’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific, supporting thousands of students to undertake international learning experiences across the region.
As mobility models evolve and greater emphasis is placed by NCP on longer-term experiences, questions remain about how program duration, host contexts and student motivations influence outcomes.
Drawing on data from more than 3,000 Australian students, including over 600 New Colombo Plan participants, this session explores how students experience mobility across different program types and host destinations across the Asia-Pacific. Using student voice data, we compare short-term and semester-length programs, NCP and non-NCP experiences, and examine differences in student motivations, in-country experiences, support factors and measures of personal, professional and intercultural capability impact.
The analysis also explores how experiences vary across host destinations and regional contexts, providing insights not only for sending institutions, but also for host institutions seeking to better understand and support visiting students.
At a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping how students learn, work and connect, the findings highlight the enduring value of international experiences in developing human-centred capabilities including intercultural understanding, adaptability, communication across difference and tolerance for ambiguity.
Learning objectives
Participants will:
- Understand how student motivations, impact and experience differ across short-term, semester-length, NCP and non-NCP global learning.
- Explore the relationship between program duration and measures of personal, professional and intercultural capability impact.
- Examine how accessibility and participation vary across different mobility models and what this means for equity and inclusion.
- Gain insight into how Australia’s investment in Indo-Pacific mobility has evolved through the New Colombo Plan.
- Consider evidence-based approaches to balancing accessibility, participation and impact when designing mobility programs.
Target audience
International education leaders, education abroad and mobility practitioners, international offices, student experience and employability professionals, policymakers, and anyone interested in student mobility, Indo-Pacific engagement, student outcomes, benchmarking and evidence-based internationalisation strategies.