My flight is fast-approaching, my packing is almost complete and the pre-departure travel arrangements are drawing to a close. I am left feeling both excited, by the new experiences to come, and nervous, by my growing feeling of forgetting something. My name is Thomas Beltrame and I have just completed my third year of biomedical engineering.
By this time next week, I’ll be settled into the National University of Malaysia, hopefully I would have adjusted to the time difference and I am sure I would have already made unforgettable memories and experiences that are completely new to me.
Through this trip I am seeking to expand my current cultural, political, and historical awareness. In addition, I am aiming to improve my understanding of international considerations required when undertaking an engineering project. Having never crossed the Australian border before, I was keen to jump on the opportunity provided by the New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant to travel overseas.
As the main theme of the study component is dedicated to ‘Sustainability of Tropical Heritage’, I will be exposed to a side of technological advancements I am unfamiliar with. I am looking forward to learning about specific applications of renewable engineering, and how they have been applied in the form of fuel and solar cells. I will be immersed in Malaysian heritage and history, which I’m sure will emphasise the importance of sustainable technology.
I’m hoping to make long lasting connections with both my Flinders travel companions and the students in Malaysia, and cannot wait to experience such a rich and diverse culture in the most up-close-and-personal way possible!
Thomas Beltrame, Bachelor of Engineering (Biomedical) (Honours), Master of Engineering (Biomedical) student, participating in “Investigating the history, culture, politics, and science and technology capability of Malaysia” funded by the New Colombo Plan in January 2018