Study Melbourne and the Embassy of Colombia co-hosted a Colombia-Victoria Roundtable on Academic and Research Collaboration at the Investment Centre Victoria in early September. The roundtable introduced a delegation of representatives of Chambers of Commerce and business leaders (visiting for the World Chambers Congress), to 5 Victorian universities.

Discussions centred on sharing experiences with Colombian students, outlining study opportunities in Victoria, and identifying potential partnerships with Colombian private companies to co-finance PhD research. Victoria is a leading destination in Australia for recipients of the Colfuturo scholarship scheme, with Monash University second globally, and the roundtable highlighted the strong potential to expand this model of collaboration into research and development partnerships between universities and industry.