ANU Bachelor of Philosophy (Science) (Honours) student Ee-Faye Chong has won a scholarship to study at Tohoku University in Japan in 2015 as part of the Federal Government’s New Colombo Plan.

Ee-Faye plans to undertake a research internship with Tohoku University or the National Institute for Materials Science.

The Colombo Plan scholarship, valued at up to $65,000, allows students to spend up to 12 months at an overseas university, with an optional further six months as an intern.

The New Colombo Plan was launched by Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop in December 2013, as a platform for Australia’s engagement with Asia.

In August 2014 the program was extended from the original four destinations to include 38 countries for the 2015 round of scholarships.

Early this year Ee-Faye spent four weeks at Tokyo’s Waseda University under the New Colombo Plan Mobility Program, which allows short-term study in the pilot locations of Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Ee-Faye encourages other students to consider New Colombo Plan study opportunities.

“You get so many different senses from being in an environment which isn’t your standard Australian university life,” she said.

“I had great teachers and learned a lot in the classroom. But being in a different environment allowed us to have a cultural experience as well.

“I think it is something everyone should try. Maybe it’s not for you but I definitely want to go on exchange to Japan or somewhere else.’’ she said.

The six ANU students who won 2015 scholarships were picked from a national pool of 284 nominees. Nationally, 69 students received scholarships in the latest round.

ANU has secured $340,000 in funding for the latest round, taking the University’s total funding under the New Colombo Plan to $540,000.

The successful students are:

• Alana Tolman, Asian Studies/Law (CAP/Law), University of Brunei Darussalam, Brunei;
• Andrew Wrigley, Comp Sci (Hons) (CECS), NUS, Singapore;
• Ee-Faye Chong, PhB (Science) (Honours),Tohoku University, Japan;
• Erin Corkill, International Relations (CASS), University of the South Pacific, Vanuatu;
• Mark Pennini, Arts/Law (Hons) (CASS/Law), National University of Mongolia, Mongolia;
• Stephanie Otten, Asia-Pacific Studies/Commerce (CAP/CBE), Fudan University, China.