Catherine Elliott has always thought global and now Singapore is very much on her mind.

The third year economics student from Federation University Australia in Victoria has been studying the country's economic and fiscal policies first-hand during a two-week visit made possible by the New Colombo Plan.

"I was one of five students from my university doing an intensive research project covering different aspects of the Singapore economy," Catherine says. "We were hosted by the Nanyang Institute of Management, which is a partner to our university.

"The Institute arranged for us to interview senior employees at some of Singapore's biggest businesses. I was particularly interested in the history of the economy, financial policy settings and the influence of the country's first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. Others in my group were concentrating on areas such as taxation, human resources, management, tourism and transport. We wrote a report on our findings and personal reflections which we later presented to our university."

While in Singapore, the group lived as locals, eating in Singapore's famous hawkers markets. In searing heat and high humidity they even hiked ten kilometres to the treetops in the MacRitchie Reserve. Catherine counts this as a great personal achievement, unlike her efforts to speak Mandarin. "I failed dismally, but I appreciate better how hard it must be for Asian students coming to Australia and having to speak English."

Singapore has left Catherine wanting more. She had previously set her sights on a career in the private sector in the United States or United Kingdom. Not so now.

"Singapore is only about eight hours flight from Australia and several Asian cities. Unlike the economies of the west, this is a region that will experience enormous growth and reform over the coming decades and as an economist it would be nice to be part of that."