Alumni Stories

Hari Prasad Uprety has recently completed a Master of Disability Policy and Practice at Flinders University with the support of an Australia Awards Scholarship. Before coming to Australia, Hari was a college teacher and an activist for child and disability rights in Nepal.

Two-time President of National Federation of the Disabled – Nepal, Australia Awards alumnus Shudarson Subedi has advocated for disability rights for more than 25 years. In that time, his efforts have had a major impact on national level policies.

When she took to the podium at a United Nations summit in Morocco a few years ago, Ipul Powaseu had every reason to feel proud of how far she had come.

Unique study and internship experiences in Japan and Taiwan opened the door to outstanding opportunities in the medtech industry for 2019 New Colombo Plan scholar Jadyn D’Mello, which he says would have been unlikely without the support offered by the program.

The New Colombo Plan Mobility Program provides funding to Australian universities to support Australian undergraduate students to participate in semester-based or short-term study, internships or research in 40 host locations across the Indo-Pacific region.

Anan Bouapha is an Australia Awards Fellowship recipient and a founder of Proud to be us Laos, the first LGBTQI group in Laos. Anan is one the leading voices in Laos advocating for the rights of LGBTQI individuals.

2019 New Colombo Plan scholar Joel Ransley jumped at the opportunity to study in the Indo-Pacific region. Through his experience, he has been exposed to a wealth of old and new architectural perspectives and gained a deep appreciation of Asian cultures.

Mr Khishigt Tamir, an Australia Awards alumnus, was featured as ‘Winds of change’ in the alumni news section of Murdoch University website. After his return from Australia, Mr Tamir worked on the Salkhit wind farm, the first ever grid-connected utility sized wind farm in Mongolia and he subsequently worked on establishing the Tsetsii wind farm in the Gobi desert. Read more on Khishigt's story here

For 2019 New Colombo Plan scholar Jett Osborne, adaptability and an open mind were essential to navigate numerous changes to his NCP program. Jett made the most of new opportunities to gain invaluable experience in the evolving field of precision medicine, connecting with world experts in the field along the way.

Congratulations to New Colombo Plan alumnus Rebecca Lawrence on your promotion to Associate level with EY Port Jackson Partners. We recently caught up with Rebecca to hear more on how her global experiences led to a successful career.

"It was some of the most challenging study I have ever done, not only because of the language barrier. But the payoff was something special, and it kept me humble about how much more I have to learn."
At the Komodo Regional General Hospital, COVID-19 Surveillance Coordinator and Australia Awards alumna Aloysia Juniarti Ritassi and her team are working hard to ensure data is captured accurately daily.