From hosting to regional engagement: A capability approach to understanding international education and public diplomacy from the Indo Pacific community perspective

• This article analyses the Indo-Pacific host community perspective on engaging with Australian students. • It conceptualises the process of hosting as connecting, becoming and internationalising. • The article provides unique insights into the expansion of hosts’ capabilities and opportunities through hosting. • It also investigates the tensions and challenges facing the Indo-Pacific communities in hosting Australian students. There has been a growing body of the literature on outbound student mobility, particularly around major programs such as ASEAN International Mobility for Students (AIMS), Australia’s New Colombo Plan (NCP), Europe’s Erasmus+, the UK’s Turing Scheme, the US’s Global Undergraduate Study Abroad Programme, and the University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP). However, most research has focused on the experiences of students in host regions, primarily from the perspectives of students, academics, and stakeholders in the sending countries. Less attention has been given to the views and experiences of the host communities. This article addresses this critical gap in the literature by using empirical evidence from interviews with host communities in the Indo-Pacific and applying Amartya Sen’s capability approach to conceptualise the act of hosting Australian outbound students. It focuses on the voices of the host communities engaged in the New Colombo Plan (NCP), which is an Australian government initiative launched in 2014 to enhance knowledge of the Indo-Pacific region among Australian undergraduates by supporting their study and internships in the region. This article explores how host institutions and organisations benefit from hosting NCP students and analyses the tensions they encounter in the process. The study’s findings deepen our understanding by conceptualising hosting as connecting, internationalising, and becoming. This framework provides valuable perspectives on how North-South study-abroad programs influence regional engagement, public diplomacy and capabilities from the viewpoint of host communities.