Developing International Short Programs

Talk about your plans with the Western Sydney International (WSI) Go Global & Study Abroad team. The team will discuss the processes involved in the delivery of an overseas program.

• New Colombo Plan
• Other   Programs

Project leader

This process should commence 6-12 months in advance of departure.

After meeting with Go Global (see above), the team will create a project portfolio on Microsoft (MS) Teams. The folder will include numerous documents including draft Project Plan, Risk Assessment, Critical Incident Response Plan.

The Project plan consists of the main details, project account, schedule, budget, timeline of activities

• Go Global –   initial draft
• Project leader –   final draft

The final draft may be required for approval by the School/Department delegate.

WSI will create a project account, delegated to the respective school/department. Invoices can be sent to the Go Global team. The team will review the information for accuracy and ensure the right account is being utilised and the vendor is an approved provider.

• WSI finance –   initial set up
• Project leader –   budget and spending
• Approvals – relevant   delegate

If you are using an external vendor to support or manage a project, the organisation must be an approved International Partner Provider (IPP) or partner institution. These relationships are administered by Western Sydney International. Invoices should not be paid to external vendor without an agreement.

• WSI

This comprehensive document is required by the Australian Government and Western Sydney University and must be completed prior to booking any travel. Program leaders are expected to consider the additional controls, specific to the host location. See Risk Management.

This document is under development and will be available soon.

• Go Global –   initial draft
• Project leader –   final draft

This document is program specific critical incident response, associated with the Critical Incident Guidelines.

This document is under development and will be available soon.

• Go Global –   initial draft
• Project leader –   final draft

Request is submitted via TEMS on behalf of the group leader, which will detail the number of students and the description of project. The travel company will respond with quotes, which the project leader can negotiate. This can be done well in advance of the travel, can be cancelled, recalled, or updated over time at any time.

• Go Global will submit   initial information
• Project leader uses   quote to populate budget details in Project Plan

A dedicated online brochure and EOI will be created on the Go Global Application Portal. The platform supports students through their entire learning abroad cycle and requires the acknowledgement of several government and university policies, complete an individual risk assessment, and collects student travel details prior to departure. A weblink will be provided to the project leader prior to promotion.

To find out more about recruiting and selecting students, go to  Promoting an Overseas Short Program.

Note: if you are working with an overseas partner or provider, in the first instance all students must register their participation via the Western Sydney University Go Global Application Portal.

• Go Global –   initial draft
• Project leader –   final draft on completion of budget

If you need to collect payments from students, Western Sydney University uses the One Stop shopping cart.

Payment information can be provided to students on the Go Global Application platform.

• Go Global –   initial set up

If a request has been submitted via TEMSand the above processes have been implemented, it is now time to confirm and book the flights.  Go Global will collect the relevant student information from the Go Global Application platform and request the development of TEMS traveller profiles.

• Go Global – TEMS   profiles
• Go Global –   resubmit final quote via TEMS (on behalf of project leader)
• Project leader   negotiates with travel agent and confirms flight bookings

It is advised that all participants are provided with comprehensive information about the overseas activity at prior to departure - see Pre-Departure.

• Go Global – general   information provided on the Go Global platform
• Project leader and/or   provider – program specific information

A Project Report is required no later than one month after the program has been completed.  If a project has multiple implementation dates, a Project Report must be completed after each implementation period. Internal school/department reports will not be accepted in place of this document. Supplementary information can be provided as part of this report. Project Report

Project leader

If for any reason a project needs to be changed, in any way, project leaders are required to submit a Project Variation as early as possible. This includes, but is not limited to, the  project dates, description, type of experience (study tours, work experience, research), delivery (online or in-country), School, and project leader.

If you require further advice, contact Steven McDonald, Manager Short Term Mobility.

All students must registered on the Western Sydney University Go Global Portal Portal, prior to participating an overseas program (virtual/in-country). The Go Global Application Portal is a web-based platform that provides dedicated webpages (brochures) and an online application process for students. The platform is integrated with Banner and keeps a comprehensive record of all mobility projects across the university (in-country or online). Find out more.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on international travel, Australian students may temporarily be unable to conduct their programs physically situated in Indo-Pacific locations. Until travel restrictions are lifted and the welfare of New Colombo Plan (NCP) students on programs can be appropriately managed, the Australian Government is offering continued flexibility with projects over the coming years. The Government has permitted the variation of projects and development of online delivery for all NCP projects. This would include mobility projects and internships, where these virtual study and work-based experiences are supported by strong relationships with Indo-Pacific institutions and private sector organisations.

If for any reason a project needs to be changed, in any way, project leaders are required to submit a Project Variation as early as possible. See Project Variations above.

Western Sydney University must ensure each student receiving an NCP grant:

• a) is an Australian citizen
• b) is not a citizen or permanent resident of a host location in which they will undertake a mobility project
• c) is enrolled in an on-shore campus at Western Sydney University and undertaking a bachelor degree or bachelor honours degree for the duration of the mobility project
• d) will receive credit/count towards the course requirements
• e) meets the age requirements:
  • at least 70 per cent of students participating in a mobility project and receiving a student grant are aged between 18 to 28 years inclusive at the commencement of the Mobility project.
  • Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students do not need to be aged between 18 and 28, and for the purposes of calculating the 70 per cent of students, are to be counted as students aged under age 28, recognising that a high proportion of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students are mature aged students.
• f) not be an employee of the branch of DFAT that administers the NCP
• g) does not during the course of their bachelor degree or bachelor honours degree
  • (i) receive more than one student grant for the same mobility project.
  • (ii) receive more than two student grants during the course of their Bachelor Degree or Bachelor Honours Degree
• h) agrees to comply with DFAT’s Child Protection Policy 2017 and Preventing Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment Policy 2019 including the reporting obligations under these policies (see Section 10.4), and has completed the Risks and Responsibilities modules of DFAT’s online NCP pre-departure training eLearning,
• i) has signed an acknowledgement that they have read NCP Student Code of Conduct prior to their departure, and
• j) takes into account the University Foreign Interference Taskforce - guidelines to Counter Foreign Interference in the Australian University Sector 2019

Diversity

The Government strongly encourages services to enable and support the participation of a diverse range of students in mobility projects including, but not limited to, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students, students from a low socio-economic status background, students from regional/remote areas, students who are first in their immediate family to attend university, students across genders, female students studying in non-traditional fields, students with a disability, and students from a non-English speaking background. This will help contribute to overall value with money (see Glossary) as per NCP program objective and outcomes

The Go Global Application Portal

All students participating in international programs (in-country or online) are required to register their participation via the Go Global Application Portal. During this process, students will be fully assessed for NCP eligibility or alternative funding.

It is a mandatory requirement that the New Colombo Plan is acknowledged in all publications, promotional materials and activities.

To assist with program promotion, monitoring and evaluation, all students participating in international programs (in-country or online) are required to register their participation via the Go Global Application Portal. See Steps for Implementing a Project > 4. Create an Online Brochure

The NCP Secretariat may also seek supplementary information from universities on Mobility Projects. Project Leaders should retain photographs, newspaper clippings, video clips and/or web links documenting a project that can be provided on request. Project leaders are also encouraged to send such materials to the NCP Secretariat at any time. Before sending any images of students to DFAT, Western Sydney University must seek consent from the students.

Student consent will be confirmed during the application process on the Go Global Application Portal.

Projects that under-perform put at risk the University’s reputation and future funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Under-performance includes failing to:

• Implement the project approved by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• Meet the deadlines above
• Using 80 per cent of the total Student Grant funding
• Notifying WSU's New Colombo Plan International Liaison Officer of any changes to the project.

If for any reason a project is at risk of under-performing and the number of students outlined in the original application is not reached by the proposed departure date, please submit a Project Variation as soon as possible. Consideration should be given to changing the project dates, description, School, project leader etc.

For advice or to schedule a meeting, please contact the New Colombo Plan International Liaison, Steven McDonald., Manager, Short Term Mobility.

Administration funding offered to successful Mobility Projects is calculated at 10% of the total funding offered for each project.

From the 2017 Round onward, it was approved by the PVC International that half of the NCP Administration funding is retained for the employment of a central resource to ensure compliance with policies and procedures, including expenditure and the collection of accurate information for NCP reporting. The person will provide advice to staff engaged in the delivery of projects.

The remaining half of the NCP Administration funding is transferred to the School/Division project. Administration funding can be used for administration purposes associated with Mobility Project management, including but not limited to:

• arranging, negotiating and researching details of the Mobility Project;
• supervising, monitoring and evaluating Students’ progress during the Mobility Project
• engaging the services of third party organisations which have relevant expertise to support Students to undertake the Mobility Project, and
• general administration costs.

An NCP Project Report must be submitted no later than one month after the project has been completed or by the deadline requested by Western Sydney International. If a project has multiple implementation dates, a Project Report must be completed after each implementation period. Internal school/department reports will not be accepted in place of this document. Supplementary information can be provided as part of this report.

NCP Project Report

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on international travel, Australian students may be unable to conduct their programs physically situated in Indo-Pacific locations.

Until restrictions are lifted and the welfare of students and staff can be appropriately managed, the Australian Government has permitted online delivery of elements of the NCP. This would include mobility projects and internships, where these virtual study and work-based experiences are supported by strong relationships with Indo-Pacific institutions and private sector organisations.

The online delivery of international experiences will maintain the momentum of the NCP, building and reinforcing people-to-people, institutional and business linkages between Australia and the Indo-Pacific region. It will encourage increased diversity and participation by students for whom international travel presents challenges.

The Australian Government has approved this temporary approach as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCP will revert to normal arrangements as soon as it is possible to do so, when travel to host locations can be resumed and student safety and welfare can be appropriately met. The Government will review the outcomes of online delivery of projects at this time, noting, that immersive, in-country experiences is the preferred method and hallmark of the NCP. Find out more.