ABSTRACT
Study abroad is widely recognised by universities around the world as a central component of their internationalisation strategies, aimed at fostering students’ global perspectives, intercultural competence, academic and personal development, and employability. At the institutional level, it also serves as a strategic tool to support transnational education, enhance student recruitment, and elevate institutional visibility in key international markets. Increasingly, governments view study abroad and outbound student mobility as a means of strengthening regional engagement. In the Australian context, outbound student mobility to the Indo-Pacific has been embraced as a strategic approach to fostering enduring regional ties. The integration of public diplomacy objectives into study abroad – particularly in the Indo-Pacific – has become a significant priority for the Australian government. This chapter begins by examining the major developments and global trends in study abroad, along with a review of prominent international outbound mobility programs. It then introduces the New Colombo Plan, an Australian government’s flagship initiative that promotes outbound mobility and public diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific. The chapter also outlines the research design and methodology that underpin this study. The data informing the research draws from extensive Indo-Pacific-based fieldwork and observations, policy analysis, a nationwide survey of 1,371 students and alumni, and 298 interviews with students and alumni, academic program leaders, mobility practitioners, host community members, third-party providers, and government officials in both Australia and host countries across the Indo-Pacific.
