This book focuses on Australian students’ engagement and learning in the Indo-Pacific through the New Colombo Plan (NCP), the Australian Government’s flagship initiative for student mobility and public diplomacy.
By analysing the experiences, tensions, and both individual and societal impacts of Australian student mobility to the Indo-Pacific, the book responds to the pressing need for more nuanced understandings of the short- and long-term effects of such study-abroad programs. It also discusses critical issues including geopolitics, access and equity, structural imbalances in Global North–South partnerships, and tensions shaped by neoliberal, postcolonial, and consumerist forces in study-abroad contexts. Drawing on a robust theoretical framework and a large-scale, multi-dimensional, and longitudinal research project, the book offers practical recommendations to strengthen study-abroad student engagement and learning in the Indo-Pacific. The research foregrounds diverse perspectives from students, alumni, host communities, academics, mobility professionals and government representatives.
By examining mobility from the Global North to the Global South, this book makes a distinctive contribution to the field of international education, highlighting the intersection of education and public diplomacy through the lens of student mobility. It will be of interest to practitioners and administrators, policy-makers, and researchers in international education, public diplomacy, and intercultural development.
The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.
Table of Contents:
1. Study-abroad Trends and Australian Students’ Mobility to the Indo-Pacific 2. Key Issues in Study Abroad 3. The Diversity of Australian Students’ Motivations in Study Abroad in the Indo-Pacific 4. Understanding the Diverse Challenges Faced by Australian Students Studying Abroad in the Indo-Pacific 5. Study Abroad in the Indo-Pacific: Student Learning and Community Impacts from the Perspectives of Students, Academics, and Professional Staff from Home and Host Institutions 6. Challenges and Tensions in Study-Abroad Programs for Australian Students in the Indo-Pacific: Insights from Academics, Practitioners and Host Communities 7. Rethinking Outbound Student Mobility to the Indo-Pacific: Pathways, Policy and Practice Implications and Future Directions
About the Author :
Ly Thi Tran is Professor in the School of Education and Research for Educational Impact (REDI) Centre, Deakin University, Australia.
Huyen Bui is Transnational Education (TNE) Manager for Deakin University, Australia.
Diep Thi Bich Nguyen is Lecturer in the School of Education, Deakin University, Australia.
Review :
“Australian Student Mobility to the Indo-Pacific through the New Colombo Plan is a landmark book that repositions outbound student mobility as both an educational journey and a diplomatic bridge. Drawing on rigorous research including robust empirical data and critical theories, it unpacks how Australian students become agents of intercultural connection, navigating geopolitical complexities and shifting the centre of gravity in international education from the Global North to the Global South. It is a compelling and comprehensive resource for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of strategic regional engagement and the ongoing challenges in global partnerships as well as how student mobility reshapes not just individuals but entire regions.”
Dr Hiroshi Ota, Professor at the Center for General Education and Director of the Hitotsubashi University Global Education Program, Hitotsubashi University, Japan.
“This book offers a fresh perspective on Australian student mobility, illuminating its complexities within the broader contexts of decolonisation, Indo-Pacific geopolitics, and regional engagement. By amplifying the voices of a diverse range of stakeholders, it facilitates critical reflection on many important issues, including unequal access and asymmetrical partnerships. Its depths and critical insights make it essential reading for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers committed to rethinking international education through more equitable and reflexive approaches.”
Dr Tracy Zou, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Administration and Policy, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
"Grounded in a rigorous longitudinal study, this book flips the familiar South-to-North script, revealing how Australia’s New Colombo Plan is reshaping pedagogy, power, and public diplomacy across the Indo-Pacific. Read it and consider how reciprocal knowledge networks within our multipolar world might help study abroad fuel new forms of scientific exchange."
Dr Chris R. Glass, Professor of the Practice in the Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education, Boston College, USA.
“Amid intensified global competition for talent, shifting geopolitical dynamics, and increasingly intertwined practices of public diplomacy, this book offers a nuanced and multifaceted exploration of how these complex forces shape inter-regional mobility between Australia and the Indo-Pacific region. It presents a timely and insightful contribution to current debates in international education and global mobility. I wholeheartedly endorse this important and compelling manuscript.”
Professor Sheng-Ju Chan, Vice President, Distinguished Professor, Graduate Institute of Education, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan
“Australia's New Colombo Plan program, which gives opportunities for Australian students to learn and experience Asia, is the focus of this fascinating study by Tran, Bui and Nguyen. Here the authors explore international student mobility (ISM) but from the prism of not only a study-abroad program but from a 'West to East' perspective. This book sensitively tells the stories of Australian students in the Indo-Pacific and the rich impacts the region has on them.”
Professor Catherine Gomes, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Australia.
“While the existing literature on international student mobility predominantly focuses on the flow of students from the Global South to the Global North, this book seeks to address the under-explored flow from the Global North to the Global South, with a particular emphasis on Australian students traveling to the Indo-Pacific through the New Colombo Plan. Drawing on diverse perspectives such as geopolitics, neoliberalism, and commercialiation, in conjunction with advanced theoretical frameworks, this book offers a timely, insightful, and comprehensive analysis of Australian student mobility in the Indo-Pacific region in recent years. I highly recommend this book to international educators, policymakers, and educational practitioners.”
Dr Hiep Hung Pham, Director, Institute for Research on Education and Knowledge Transfer, Thanh Do University and Co-Head, Educational Sciences and Policies Research Unit, VNU Hanoi University of Education, Vietnam.
