At UTS Law, international travel is key to learning

1. New Colombo Plan Scholarships Program 

The New Colombo Plan Scholarships Program, which is run by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, supports university students to pursue study and internships that strengthen Australia’s regional relationships. The scheme is one of Australia’s most lucrative scholarship offerings.

As a 2024 New Colombo scholar, Sai received funding to cover his travel, tuition and daily living costs, giving him the financial freedom to immerse himself in his studies.

“I did a six-month exchange at the Universitas Indonesia, which is the #1-ranked law school in the country. I studied IP, arbitration and law, law of contracts and Indonesian corporate law,” Sai says.

2. Mooting competitions 

Mooting is a hands-on learning activity that takes place inside a mock (or moot) court. Students hone their legal research and advocacy training skills by working through simulated court proceedings that give them firsthand experience of the law in action.

Sai joined the UTS Law Mooting program, taking part in a total of 10 senior moots with support from UTS. These included four intervarsity moots in Australia, one national moot and the prestigious Philip C Jessup Moot in Washington DC.

“Mooting really helps with not just oral advocacy and putting your ideas and arguments forward to a bench, but also in your written skills and preparation,” he says. 

“This includes things like legal research, finding the right cases, using legal databases, understanding legal principles and then applying them to the problem that you've been given. 

“That’s been very good for my career.”

3. Commercial mediation competitions 

Not all lawyers will appear before the court, but almost all lawyers use their negotiating skills as part of their routine practice. Mediation is a non-courtroom-based negotiation process to assist parties in dispute to reach a resolution. In the university setting, mediation competitions present students with realistic mediation problems that they must work in teams to solve.

During his New Colombo Plan Scholarship travel, Sai competed in two International Chamber of Commerce commercial mediation competitions in Paris and Hong Kong. The UTS Law Students Society makes similar competitions available to UTS students.

Supported by legal industry sponsorship, Sai and his Universitas Indonesia peers worked on copyright disputes and patent infringement issues, receiving awards at both competitions. 

“As an avid mooter, mediation took me out of my comfort zone to consider parties’ underlying commercial interests,” Sai says.  

“The experiences were helpful in refining my commercial awareness and approach to navigating disputes.”