New Colombo Plan scholarships will take six Griffith students to China, Singapore and Hong Kong in 2018.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop MP, formally announced this year’s recipients at a presentation ceremony in Canberra last night.

There was further acknowledgement for Griffith on the night. Bachelor of Engineering student Conor Gould, one of the six scholars, has also been named the New Colombo Plan China Fellow, the third Griffith student to receive the honour.

In addition Courtney Organ — a New Colombo Plan scholar in 2015 — was appointed to a key mentoring role for scholars heading to Japan next year.

The New Colombo Plan scholarships are awarded annually by the Australian Government and support high-achieving undergraduate students to undertake further studies and industry internships across the Indo-Pacific region.

The full list of Griffith University scholars for 2018 is as follows:

  • Nicholas Mclean, Bachelor of Laws /Diploma of Languages (Mandarin)
  • Conor Gould, Bachelor of Engineering (Software)/Diploma of Languages (Mandarin)
  • Oliver Thompson, Bachelor of Government and International Relations/ Bachelor of Asian Studies
  • Kimberley Bates, Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice/Bachelor of Psychological Science
  • Samantha Wilson, Bachelor of Business (Human Resources)/Bachelor of International Tourism and Hotel Management
  • Grace Manahan, Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Government and International Relations

Vice Chancellor and President of Griffith University, Professor Ian O’Connor AC, attended the ceremony in Canberra where he congratulated the successful Griffith students.

“The importance of strong ties and vibrant relationships with the Asia-Pacific region is consistently reinforced at Griffith University. Our enduring commitment to the region has prevailed since the university’s foundation,” Professor O’Connor said.

“The sophisticated cultural understanding that our latest group of scholars will gain through the New Colombo Plan program is likely to have an enduring and positive effect on their lives and careers.”

China is the Indo-Pacific destination of choice for Nicholas Mclean and Conor Gould, while Oliver Thompson and Grace Manahan will go to Singapore, with Samantha Wilson and Kimberley Bates nominating Hong Kong for their scholarship experience. All six are also members of Griffith Honours College.

Bachelor of Business (Honours) student Courtney Organ studied at Akita International University in Japan through her New Colombo Plan scholarship, which also led to a remarkable internship in a Samurai village.

Courtney was also in Canberra for the awards ceremony to take up a New Colombo Plan mentoring role where she will support students targeting Japan as part of their scholarship. On Monday night she was on hand to guide her peers on their first steps of networking with representatives from government, business and the diplomatic corps.