A number of New Colombo Plan alumni attended the Scholarship Presentation Dinner and associated pre-departure briefings to introduce scholars to the New Colombo Plan Alumni Program and share their experiences living, studying and interning in the Indo-Pacific under the NCP.

Their resounding advice to the new cohort of scholars was to make the most of their time away by being adventurous and curious, immersing themselves in the culture and history of their host locations, and by fostering and investing in personal and professional networks.

Australian National University student Erin Corkill studied at the University of the South Pacific and interned at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vanuatu and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Fiji. Erin spoke of the incredible opportunities that her NCP experience had afforded her to form enduring friendships and connections with influential people in the region. "The highlights were travelling to Tuvalu with the Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum and making friends from around the Pacific."

University of Sydney student Glenn Hanson spoke of his desire to build on the connections he had made studying at the Universitas Gadjah Mada and interning at the Universitas Islam, and to contribute to Australia's relationship with Indonesia. Glenn has recently taken on a mentoring role and will soon travel back to Indonesia leading a group of NCP mobility students.

Pratul Awasthi, from Curtin University, said that he had benefitted enormously from his studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and his internship with Telstra. Pratul said his NCP experience had been both rewarding and challenging, and had helped expand his worldview. He hopes to make a lasting contribution to Australia's relationship with our region as he progresses in his career.

Macquarie University's Sharfah Mohamed, who addressed guests at the Scholarship Presentation Dinner (see main article) spoke of the transformative nature of her NCP experience in Singapore and how her studies at the National University of Singapore and internship with Telstra had strengthened her understanding of the region from a legal perspective and sparked an interest in international law.

Macquarie University student Cindy Huang spoke of the networks she built while interning in Japan: "[My internships] provided an opportunity for me to plug into the start-up ecosystem in Japan and Asia – volunteering for numerous start-up events including SLUSH Asia, Skyland Ventures Fest Tokyo and Tech in Asia 2015 Tokyo and to connect with hundreds of entrepreneurs across the region who are driving economic, social, cultural and technological change. This has globalised my own network and personal vision as I pursue my own path of driving global innovation."