The New Colombo Plan (NCP) was recently officially launched in Taiwan at a special event hosted by the Australian Representative Office in Taipei.

The launch was attended by 30 students from the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University in Taiwan to participate in NCP mobility projects, as well as Taiwan government representatives, and members of the Australian business community with a presence in Taiwan.

Australia's Representative to Taiwan, Ms Cathy Raper, noted the importance of the NCP to deepening Australia's relationship with Taiwan.

"I am confident that with the expansion of the NCP and a substantial increase of students coming to Taiwan [from 2016], both sides will have plenty of opportunities to continue to learn from each other," Ms Raper said.

The first NCP scholar to study in Taiwan, Ms Rose Vassel (pictured), a Law and International Studies student at the University of New South Wales, is studying Mandarin at the National Taiwan University's International Chinese Language Program.

Rose addressed guests, highlighting the positive contribution living, studying and working in the Indo-Pacific would make to her personal and professional development.

Around 190 students have received NCP support to embark on scholarships or mobility programs in Taiwan in 2015 and 2016, across a range of fields including nursing, dentistry, creative arts, language and culture, law, business, engineering, science, education, political science, and tourism. The types of study programs are diverse, from short-term and semester-based study to internships and clinical placements.

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