Brienna Forster will get hands-on experience at a Bali hospital as part of a new scholarship designed to build ties with Australia’s neighbours.
The third-year Edith Cowan University paramedical science student will complete six months study at Udayana University plus an internship at Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar as part of the New Colombo Plan.
The 26-year-old, of Bayswater, said she was looking forward to broadening her horizons.
“I’ll gain a whole lot of cultural awareness and be able to bring back a new level of providing care to the community,” Ms Forster said. The New Colombo Plan, launched last year, provides scholarships for Australian undergraduates to study in the Indo-Pacific region.
This year more than 700 Australian university students will undertake programs in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan.
ECU School of Medical Science head professor Moira Sim said the experience would be invaluable for Ms Forster. “The kind of hands-on experience Brienna will get . . . will affect how she sees the world and make her a better clinician in the future,” she said.
Ms Forster will spend a month learning Bahasa Indonesia before leaving for Bali in August.