2023 marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between Australia and Vietnam. The New Colombo Plan (NCP) has allowed UTS alumni Alli Devlin and Simon Truong to engage directly with this flourishing relationship, changing the lives of themselves and those around them.
The New Colombo Plan changed the lives of UTS alumni Alli Devlin and Simon Truong in Vietnam. Photo supplied by Alli Devlin.
Simon Truong completed his Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Laws at UTS in 2020 and attended the youth program for the Australia-Vietnam Leadership Dialogue in 2021. The Dialogue involves collaboration with other young delegates to critically evaluate what the next 50 years for this bi-lateral relationship will look like.
However, this was far from Simon’s first time visiting. He received a Travel Grant via the New Colombo Plan (NCP), an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that financially supports selected undergraduate students to conduct study, internships or research in the Indo-Pacific region.
I don’t want to be dramatic, but it [the New Colombo Plan] has changed the direction of my life.
Simon Truong
Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Laws
A life-changing experience
Simon travelled to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 2017 for two weeks on the UTS International Management Field Study Vietnam program. As part of a group of students, he networked with local and global businesses, and visited the Australian Trade and Investment Commission’s Vietnamese base.
Those two weeks were merely the beginning for Truong: ‘I don’t want to be dramatic, but it has changed the direction of my life,’ he says.
‘It set me off on a journey around really trying to contribute to the Australian-Vietnam bi-lateral space and do my bit to encourage a prosperous relationship between the next generations of both countries.’
Since then, Simon has gone on to become the Steering Committee Co-Chair for the Dialogue. He currently works in the financial services industry with IBM Consulting and maintains his role as a UTS NCP Alumni Ambassador, working closely with the team behind International Management coursework at UTS.
‘I recently spoke to a group of students at a pre-departure briefing about the same course I took in 2017,’ he says.
‘Maintaining a close connection with UTS and the subject that gave me all this opportunity is really important.’
Simon received a Travel Grant through the New Colombo Plan and spent two weeks in Vietnam in 2017.
Making genuine connections
Alli Devlin also completed her NCP Scholarship Program predominantly in Vietnam. The Scholarship allowed her to spend six months studying at the Hanoi University of Science and Technology. She then travelled to Hong Kong, the Philippines and Laos to complete an internship, work in consultancy and collect field research data.
Alli says the most valuable part of her experience was developing people-to-people connections with local Vietnamese residents.
‘The generosity and joyful spirits of Vietnamese people made a strong impression on me, and I try to reshare this with those around me,’ she says.
‘I now enter conversations and situations where cultural differences exist and I approach them with an open curiosity and genuine desire to understand the unknowns.’
Language as a key to understanding
Devlin studied Vietnamese three times a week for the first five months of her stay and believes this factored into her ability to form genuine connections, surprising and delighting locals with her efforts.
‘I found language a very powerful tool to understand the cultural nuances,’ she says.
I now enter conversations and situations where cultural differences exist and I approach them with an open curiosity and genuine desire to understand the unknowns.
Alli Devlin
Bachelor of Engineering
Truong, who is half Vietnamese himself, is taking Vietnamese lessons to aid in his future ambitions to showcase the local IT and engineering industry.
He says, ‘There’s a lot of talented engineers in Vietnam, but historically the barrier has always been language. I think that’s changing… and I view it as part of my core mission: how do I bring Vietnamese engineering talent to the world?’
Devlin, now pursuing a PhD at Oxford University, has remained present in the Indo-Pacific space – she currently consults for Transition Asia, a not-for-profit think tank that assists corporations in East Asian countries such as Japan to minimise risk associated with climate change.
‘The person I am now understands the importance of regional partnerships formed by person-to-person relationships, and the responsibility of diplomacy as an Australian abroad,’ she says.
Alli spent a total of fourteen months travelling and working in the Indo-Pacific region.
Truong encourages future applicants to lean into the unfamiliar, saying, ‘It’s easy, especially in an overseas country, to gravitate towards what’s comfortable… [to gravitate] to other expats that speak the language or have the same culture.’
‘But I think, just put yourself in uncomfortable situations. That’s where you grow the most,’ he says.
Devlin echoes this bold attitude in her advice to students: ‘Do not hesitate to apply [for an NCP Scholarship] – there is nothing you can lose but so much you could gain.’
To find out more and apply to become a nominee for the 2024 New Colombo Plan Scholarships Program, visit Global Opportunities →
Applications close 23 June 2023.