2017 New Colombo Plan Mobility Program Consortium Application: Member University Consultation
The guidelines for the 2017 Round of the New Colombo Plan (NCP) Mobility Program were released earlier this year. The New Colombo Plan is a signature initiative of the Australian Government which aims to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region. Applications for the 2017 funding round open on 1 April and close on 3 June 2016.
In the 2014, 2015 and 2016 rounds of the NCP Mobility Program, ACICIS was successful in securing a combined total of over $3 million in mobility grant funding on behalf of the consortium’s member universities and their students. This funding will support over 600 undergraduate students from ACICIS member universities to undertake study in Indonesia through ACICIS from 2015-2019. ACICIS has also developed four new in-country study options with the support of NCP funding in Business, Agriculture, Creative Arts and Public Health.
In previous NCP funding application rounds, ACICIS has conducted a single round of consultation with consortium members, canvassing interest in a limited range of possible new ACICIS program initiatives that could be developed should there be sufficient interest from the consortium membership. (See here for an example of the consortium’s 2016 round ‘New Initiatives’ canvassing document).
This year, for the purposes of formulating the consortium’s 2017 NCP Mobility Program application, ACICIS intends on consulting with the consortium’s membership in two distinct stages as outlined below:
| # | Timeline | Activity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | 1 | 24 February – 10 March | Stage 1 ACICIS Member University Consultation: Open call to ACICIS member universities to submit ideas for new program initiatives they would like to see ACICIS develop with NCP support in 2017 and beyond. |
| 11 March | Deadline for Stage 1 member university submissions | ||
| 2 | 14 March – 31 March | ACICIS Secretariat to review member university Stage 1 submissions for new in-country program ideas. ACICIS to synthesise Stage 1 university submissions into shortlist of (approximately) ten possible new ACICIS program initiatives. Shortlisted program initiatives to be worked into one-page new initiative ‘expression of interest’ forms for circulation to member universities during Stage 2 of the member university consultation. | |
| Stage 2 | 3 | 1 April | ACICIS 2017 NCP Mobility Program ‘New Initiatives’ and ‘Existing Programs’ expression of interest forms sent to member universities |
| 4 | 1 April – 10 May | Stage 2 ACICIS Member University Consultation: Member university study abroad offices (in consultation with faculty staff) to consider, complete and submit ‘expression of interest’ forms to the ACICIS Secretariat indicating which programs – existing and new – they are interested in receiving NCP funding for. For each ACICIS program, member universities will be asked to indicate how many NCP mobility grants they would like the consortium to apply for on their university’s behalf. | |
| 11 May | Deadline for submission of Stage 2 member university ‘expressions of interest’ forms to ACICIS Secretariat | ||
| Application Submission | 5 | 16 May – 31 May | ACICIS Secretariat to collate member university Stage 2 ‘expressions of interest’ and synthesise into consortium’s 2017 NCP Mobility Program Application. |
| 1 June | Submission of ACICIS 2017 NCP Mobility Program consortium application to the Commonwealth Department of Education and Training. |
At this initial stage, ACICIS is seeking input on any new in-country program initiatives that member universities would like ACICIS to develop in Indonesia with New Colombo Plan support in 2017 and beyond. For a full list of ACICIS’ current program offerings, please refer to our website here.
ACICIS is open to suggestions for program development in all university discipline areas.
In addition to suggestions for completely new study options in Indonesia, ACICIS would be particularly interested to hear of any existing Indonesia-based mobility projects that your university has developed with the assistance of previous Commonwealth mobility funding. If your university has an Indonesia-based project that you would like to see continue, but that may pose an on-going administrative burden to your institution, ACICIS would welcome a conversation regarding the possibility of the consortium taking on the management of these already trialled programs. Specifically, ACICIS would be interested in Indonesia-based programs with scope for scaling-up or widening to accommodate students from across the consortium membership. Drawing as it does on the consortium’s collective resources, shared in-country infrastructure, and combined pool of eligible member university students, consortium administration could represent a sustainable, long-term solution to the maintenance of your university’s current Indonesia-based mobility project(s). If your university has any Indonesia-based program initiatives of this sort, ACICIS would be keen to hear from you.
Member university Stage 1 submissions regarding either new programs you would like to see ACICIS develop for the 2017 NCP funding round – or any of your institution’s existing Indonesia-based projects you would be interested in ACICIS administering in the future – should be forwarded to the ACICIS Secretariat at enquiries@acicis.edu.au or on 08 6488 6675 on or before Friday 11 March, 2016.