Curtin celebrated its New Colombo Plan partnership with leading design studio HASSELL at a special event on 11 November. The event farewelled urban and regional planning students Alice Baldock, Yasmin Harris, Benjamin Richardson and Michael Tran, who will depart shortly to HASSELL's international studios in Singapore and Hong Kong with support from the Australian Government's New Colombo Plan. The students will work alongside industry experts and practitioners on public transportation projects in the two cities.

Approximately 50 guests attended the special event at HASSELL's new studio in Perth, including representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, HASSELL senior management and practitioners, and Curtin senior executives.

Keynote speaker, Associate Professor Simon Leunig, Deputy Vice Chancellor International, said that the occasion was demonstrative of Curtin's longstanding commitment to internationalisation and collaboration with the industry. He regarded the event as a significant point in Curtin's relationship with HASSELL, the first international aspect since the signing of a MOU between the University and the firm in 2013.

David Momcilovic from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade welcomed the students as New Colombo Plan ambassadors and invited the students to share their experiences abroad. He reinforced that the New Colombo Plan served as an opportunity for students to take their learning across borders, lift their knowledge of the Indo-Pacific and strengthen the relationship between Australia and our Indo-Pacific neighbours.

Also amongst the guests were seven Curtin students awarded New Colombo Plan mobility grants for a semester-long mobility program at City University Hong Kong. Curtin has been successful in the first and second tranche of the New Colombo Plan scheme, and was awarded funding for 15 projects in 2016.