Expression of Interest – 2027 Study Tours and New Colombo Plan (NCP) Mobility Grant

Purpose:

This Expression of Interest (EOI) form is used to:

identify and plan 2027 Study Tours (NCP or non-NCP funded tours)
identify interest for New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant applications (for Study Tours / Internships or Placements / Language Programs)

Submitted EOI data will allow the Global Experience (GE) team and the relevant stakeholders including the Schools/Colleges to assess feasibility, confirm priorities, and determine next steps, including endorsement and funding pathways.

Submission of an EOI does not constitute to the NCP funding application. As soon as the 2027 Round New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant Guideline is released (expected some time in June), we will provide further information.

We recommend you attend the EOI Info Session (on 26 May) to understand this process and the NCP Info Session (date TBC) if you are interested in applying for NCP funding.

Key Timeline:

26 May 2026 10-11am – EOI Info Session via zoom (https://uonewcastle.zoom.us/j/84898997175?from=addon)
26 May – 12 June 2026 – Internal EOI submission period
Mid–late June 2026 – EOI review, capacity assessment, and consultation with GE Colleges and Schools
June 2026 (TBC) – New Colombo Plan guidelines released and NCP information session
June–July 2026 – NCP application development (for endorsed proposals)
End July 2026 (TBC) – NCP Mobility Grant applications close
October 2026 – Global Experience Support Fund (GESF) application
December 2026 – Final endorsement of all 2027 programs (post‑NCP and GESF outcomes)

Notes:

Study Tours refers to a purpose-built international group travel experience organised by the University of Newcastle, usually includes learning with partner institutions and cultural activities, lasting for 2 weeks.

International internships and placements* refers to a range of workplace and professional practice-based experiences overseas that are generally recognised for credits under Career-ready placement courses or career-ready placement components of the degrees.

Language Programs can be a short course organised and hosted by a partner university.

You may refer to the Outbound Global Experience Procedure for detailed description or reach out to Global Experience team for discussion.

Project Lead Name (required)

Email (required)

College (required)

School (required)

Type of Global Experience (required)You may refer to the brief definitions of 'study tour', 'internships/placements', or 'language programs' in the notes above.

Brief Summary (required)Please provide a 100-word summary that explains the purpose of your global experience project, location(s), duration, activities, partners, learning outcomes and strategic alignment. This will help GE and HOS grasp the gist of your project.

Destination Country (required)Please ensure risk level is 1 or 2 on Smartraveller (https://www.smartraveller.gov.au)

Duration (required)E.g. 2 weeks, 28 days. If you are organising a study tour, you may indicate your flexibility to run it 2 weeks without NCP or 4 weeks with NCP (NCP – min. 28 days. Normal ideal study tour duration – 2 weeks).

Travel Dates (required)Please consider the optimal timing for the students and the hosts, as well as sufficient time for organising the project with the hosts, students and bookings. For Study Tours, you may consider how flexible your project is with travel duration and dates in case it wins NCP grants or not.

Targeted Disciplines/Cohorts (required)Can be open to all students or aimed at a specific degree/major

Estimated Group Size (required)Min - Max.

Tentative Number of Staff Travelling (required)Indicate tiers if applicable OR put ‘nil’ if no staff is required to travel with the group (especially for individual placements with providers)

Name(s) of Staff Travelling (required)A tentative plan is fine for now

Credit Arrangement (required)

International Experience Shell Course

Career-ready Placement Course

Other Existing Course

Combination – depending on student’s study progress

Unsure (You may need to identify and confirm course credit for this study tour asap in order for HOS to review).

Other

Course Code for Credit (required)

Types of Activities (required)(e.g. university/school visits, classes/lectures, organisation visits, group discussion and cultural exchange, hands on placements, site visits, swimming, snorkeling, boating, etc)

Potential Partners (required)Please list the potential institutions and organisations that you will involve in this experience.

Third Party Providers (required)Do you plan to use a Third-party Provider to help organise this project?

Yes

Unsure at this stage

If yes, which provider?

Have you run this study tour before? (required)If yes, when and how many participants and staff travelled?

Do you intend to run this global experience project annually? (required)(Either you or successors)

Estimated Cost for Staff Travel (required)Please include number of staff.

Estimated Cost per Student (required)Please factor in staff travel cost.

Are you interested in applying for New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant for this project and will your project be adaptable to meet NCP requirements (e.g. min. 28 days)? (required)

Yes

Are you still happy to run the project regardless of NCP outcome? (required)Please note for study tour, staff travel cost can be factored into participant fee and students may access OS-HELP loan for participating in credit-bearing study tours. There may be Global Experience Support Fund for 2027 as well.

Yes

Strategic AlignmentHow would this project meet the strategic goals of the University, College and/or School?