Law and behavioural science student Hannah Brimstone was announced as a recipient in the 2019 round of New Colombo Plan Scholars at a ceremony in Canberra on 26 November 2018, making her Flinders University’s first New Colombo Plan Scholar.

The prized scholarship will see Ms Brimstone study law and international relations at the University of Papua New Guinea for a semester in 2019, and also complete a six-month internship in Indonesia.

Already a passionate international citizen, Ms Brimstone has taught English to asylum seekers and refugees in Denmark and has completed two study tours and a short internship in Indonesia.

She is currently studying Bahasa Indonesian while completing her undergraduate degrees at Flinders, and recently began teaching herself the national language of PNG, Tok Pisin, which she will study formally while on exchange in that country.

She is also the president of the Australia Indonesia Youth Association, which she has been involved in for the past three years.

In its fifth year, the New Colombo Plan scholarships are an Australian Government initiative run by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. They are designed to help undergraduates develop a deep understanding of the Indo-Pacific region and equip them valuable cross-cultural skills.

The lengthy cross-country experience will be extremely valuable for Ms Brimstone, who is at the end of her undergraduate studies and aims to pursue a career in the policy area of maritime, migration and international law.