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KWM-sponsored New Colombo Plan 2019 scholar announced
King & Wood Mallesons has announced its New Colombo Plan scholar for 2019 at a Parliament House ceremony this week.
Grace Ormsby
Jessica Kelly, a law student and member of the Royal Australian Navy, will study at Hong Kong University for a semester while undertaking Mandarin language training and an internship with KWM in its Hong Kong office.
Chief executive partner for KWM Australia, Berkeley Cox said the firm is “delighted to sponsor Jessica as the recipient of a New Colombo Plan scholarship in 2019.”
“The experience she will gain from living and working with another culture in the region will be invaluable to her career, and we are proud to have her represent both KWM and Australia throughout her time in Hong Kong,” she said.
Timothy Walshe, a current employee with KWM, was also awarded a scholarship at the ceremony, and will travel to both Hong Kong and Fiji next year to pursue study in the creative arts space.
For KWM’s China consultant and New Colombo Plan business champion David Olsson, the scholarships “are instrumental in equipping future leaders with a broader understanding of our neighbours and trading partners.
“This level of knowledge can only serve to have a positive impact on the next generation of business leaders by creating a diverse network of Australians who are both regionally capable and aware,” he said.
“The New Colombo Plan is striving to ensure that bilateral relations in the Indo-Pacific develop and prosper, and that as a result Australian businesses can reap the rewards of healthy partnerships in the region,” Mr Olsson explained.
The New Colombo Plan is an initiative of DFAT, and aims to enhance Australia’s relationships in the Indo-Pacific region at an individual, institutional and business level.
Scholarship recipients are given an opportunity to study and work in one of 40 participating countries.
The awards ceremony was attended by the Governor-General, Lady Cosgrove and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Marise Payne, who named all undergraduate students selected into the program.
