As a 24 year old student applying for what at the time I simply perceived to be a free trip to China, I had no idea how the program would essentially shape my next 18 months and really provide the platform for the rest of my professional life.

The Asia Future Fellows Program provided me with the opportunity to work with high performing Australian and Chinese students, both in China and Australia, in a series of academic workshops, as well as the preparation and publishing of an academic paper, all activities that I had never had the opportunity to do before and skills that have proved integral in the achievement of my goals to date. Importantly, during my time with the program in China I was able to develop a personal and more realistic view of the country, culture and people and truly move beyond my own misconceptions and the image I had created relying purely on various media channels. On a deeper and more personal level I was exposed to the importance of self-investment, of moving beyond the role of a tourist and really immersing yourself in a foreign culture, not only for professional development and increased employability, but for self-development and essentially enabling yourself to foster a mind without borders able to more effectively critically analyse and dissect information.

This experience and the consequent skills developed and learnt enabled in a large part my successful New Colombo Plan Scholarship application, which resulted in me spending 2015 in China.

With 2014 Asia Future Fellows at the Great Wall

Due to a unique friendship made in the Fellows Program I was fortunate enough to spend a unique and remarkable experience with a Chinese family, during Chinese New Year, in a rural Chinese city. Beyond the invaluable cultural and societal insights I was also able to study at one of China’s top University and emerge with a passable level of Mandarin, from next to nothing. But perhaps the most valuable experience during my time in China was a six month internship with the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, an internship enabled by connections made during my initial visit with the Future Fellows Program. This experience enabled me to gain first hand knowledge of working in a foreign country, in a high pressure, high results orientated team, where I not only participated in the research and publishing of pertinent articles, but also had the opportunity to attend high level events with officials such as Australia’s Governor General and Ambassadors from both sides of the relationship.

I have no doubt that without the opportunities afforded due to the Asia Future Fellows Program I would not be as competitive in achieving the goals I am pursing today. Post program I have achieved many professional and academic goals including being recently named as one of Australia’s top 100 graduates, as well as living for extensive periods of time in China and Brazil. Most importantly without the Program I would not have developed the soft diplomacy skills I currently possess and continually endeavour to foster, including the ability to intimately understand and communicate in foreign cultures, with a variety of people, in a variety of personal and professional settings. Critically, I would not be as prepared as I now am to undertake my postgraduate applications, to pursue my goals of working as a Diplomat and later as a politician and importantly I would not be able to do these roles to the standard that I can today.

(L to R) Andrew Britz, Manager, Industry and Advocacy, AustCham Beijing,; Hon Matthew Groom, Tasmanian Minister for State Growth; and Braden Rowe

Want to apply to be a 2016 Asia Future Fellow? Applications are open till 15 April 2016, visit our Griffith Asia Institute Student Mobility Program web page for details.

This article was written by Braden Rowe, 2014 Asia Future Fellow.