Overseas Study Experience
Wesley College’s Overseas Study Experience (OSE) provides students the opportunity to travel to South-East Asia and partake in an internship related to their field of study.
Wesley was the first College in Australia to offer such an experience to its students and remains the only college within the University of Sydney to offer such an opportunity.
The program was established in 1993 and students have returned annually since.
What is OSE?
The Overseas Study Experience (OSE) is an annual Wesley College Foundation scholarship supporting upto 6 students to travel to Vietnam and Cambodia to observe issues in a Developing Nation first hand.
Established in 1993, Wesley was the first College in Australia to offer such an experience to its students, and is proud to continue this program as it seeks to provide outstanding extra-curricular opportunities for personal development and enriched educational outcomes.
Program structure
The first 3 weeks of the tour include a structured group program of site visits to aid organisations as well as cultural exploration in Cambodia in Vietnam.
A major component of Wesley OSE is fundraising in the lead-up to the trip. The money raised by the OSE team is distributed to organisations who demonstrate ethical and sustainable community based development, with the intention to alleviate acute and inter-generational crisis.
Across the following 2-3 weeks, students complete a placement or research experience with an organisation of their choice in South-East Asia.
Students who have been on the Wesley OSE have gone on to win New Colombo Plan Scholarships, gained further international work placements and accessed further educational exchange programs to enrich their degree studies and future careers.
What cost does the scholarship cover?
The Wesley OSE Scholarship covers return air-travel, visas, vaccinations, transfer flights between Vietnam and Cambodia. An experienced tour leader also travels with the group during phase 1.
What are the benefits of OSE?
The Wesley OSE initiative enables students to acquire a deeper appreciation and understanding of the cultural, political and economic realities of South-East Asia.
This significant and challenging program enhances intellectual depth, and facilitates an awareness of global issues that their own careers have the potential to influence.
Who is eligible to apply?
All students are eligible to apply for OSE. Five to seven students are selected each year.
Read about Annalise's highlights while on OSE
A highlight of her volunteer trip to Vietnam last summer was spending a day with the field staff of the Woolcock Institute’s ACT3 project in Ca Mau province.
She visited one of the communities participating in the project, to assist the people at the forefront of research into the management of tuberculosis in Vietnam.
It was an early start, leaving for the community health centre at 6am to pick up the supplies…
Inspired by their OSE, Wesley students have gone on to found organisations such as The Australian Youth Against Land Mines Association (TAYALA) now called STEPSAFE, the Heart Tree Foundation and also Party for Poverty.