Two journalists from the small European state of Montenegro, the world’s newest nation, have visited Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bathurst Campus to learn about how the media works in Australia and how the university promotes itself through the media. Dr Hazbo Skoko, a lecturer at the CSU School of Marketing and Management, hosted the visit and acted as interpreter for Mr Vukoman Batko Kljajevic, a radio and TV journalist for Crna Gora, the Montenegro Government Broadcast Company, and Mr Murat Corovic, chief editor of the MOZAIK magazine for culture, education and tradition. Dr Skoko said the visiting journalists were impressed with CSU students’ lifestyles and facilities. “They also were very impressed with the Australian educational system and the transparency, friendliness and easy going approach of the work of lecturers and students.”

Radio and television sports broadcaster and host, Ms Tracy Holmes, will discuss the politics of the Olympics during her visit to visit Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Bathurst Campus on Thursday 15 May. Ms Holmes, working with students enrolled in the sports/journalism double degree offered by the School of Human Movement Studies and the School of Communication, will discuss her journalism career and particularly her ‘insider’ knowledge of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 when she held a senior media position with the Game’s Organising Committee. With experience as a sports broadcaster in Hong Kong and China, Ms Holmes has also been a prominent media commentator on the recent Beijing Olympic torch relay controversy. She was the first woman presenter of ABC Radio’s Grandstand where she interviewed many of the most famous names in world sport. She appears regularly on Fox Sports and is a highly sought national and international speaker.

Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews with Ms Tracey Holmes.

Volunteers are being sought to assist a Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher with a study into the use of computer games technology to portray Einstein's Theory of Relativity. PhD student Mr David Carr says that there has been growing interest in both research and industry in the use of computer games - so-called ‘Serious Games’ - for teaching and training. “Virtual worlds can be programmed to behave according to Newtonian laws of physics, or other rules, that enable us to experience things that are not possible or feasible in real life,” said Mr Carr. “Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, which is concerned with travel at close to the speed of light, is a subject which can be visualised through the use of computer software. The aim of my research is to evaluate how this physics can be portrayed in an interactive game, and whether such a game can help people to learn the concepts of relativity. The game was designed with the HSC physics curriculum in mind, so it would be good to hear from high school students in particular, although anyone is welcome. I want to find out if it's fun and if you learn anything from the game.”

Construction of the new 200 bed residential development for Charles Sturt University (CSU) students is well under way on the Bathurst Campus. Joss Constructions is building ten modular concrete and corrugated iron buildings that will each house 20 students in self-catering accommodation. The development will include open plan kitchens and living areas in each block, with paired buildings enclosing an open courtyard. The corrugated iron, which is light, strong, adaptable and durable, highlights the heritage of Australian agricultural buildings while shielding the internal concrete walls from the summer heat. This will enable the buildings to maintain a more constant temperature without the use of expensive air conditioning. Rainwater collected from roofs will be used to flush toilets and for irrigation. The buildings are due to be finished in time for the start of the 2009 academic year.

Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews.

Festival coordinator Andrew Hagan from CSU is available for interview. Photos available from CSU Media.

Around 20 students from the Belvoir Specialist School in Wodonga, Victoria, will tour Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Thurgoona site on Friday 16 May to study the local environment and how we can reduce our environmental ‘footprint’. The tour by CSU environmental education lecturer Mr John Rafferty will also include students enrolled in CSU education degrees offered by the Murray School of Education. “The students from the Belvoir Specialist School have been learning about the role of science and technology in understanding and investigating our local environment. Now they can see it in action on our campus,” Mr Rafferty said. The CSU Thurgoona site has won numerous NSW, national and international awards for its buildings and water management systems, which aim to reduce water and power use and wastage across the campus.

The tour will run from 10.30am to 11.30am on Friday 16 May, starting near the CD Blake Lecture Theatre, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona. For interviews, contact CSU Media.

The standing of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia is the topic of a keynote address at a seminar organised by researchers based in the Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Education in Wagga Wagga. Known as RIVET or Research in Vocational Education and Training, the group will hold its bi-annual research seminar on Friday 16 May. Educator, researcher and author, Professor Stephen Billett, from Griffith University, will address the seminar from 9.30am on the value that Australia places on vocational education. The seminar will be held from 9am to 12.30pm at the Wine and Food Industry Training Centre, McKeowen Drive, on CSU Wagga Wagga Campus.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student is one of 20 young people from around the world selected to attend the World Council of Churches’ international dialogue centre, the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey in Switzerland, in July. Second year agricultural science student, Mr David Gale, will take part in the first Summer School on Water organised by the Ecumenical Water Network (EWN). The diverse group will study the global water crisis and its local, regional, and international causes and manifestations. They will examine the situation and challenges from a perspective of Christian faith and ethics and look for possible ecumenical responses. “I’m very excited and privileged to have been selected to be a part of this small international group,” said Mr Gale, who lives in the residential college, St Martin’s, on CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus.  St Martin’s is hoping to raise money from the local community to fund Mr Gale’s travel costs.

CSU student Mr David Gale is available for interview. Contact CSU Media. He leaves Wagga Wagga on Thursday 24 July and return on Friday 8 August.

Bullying in schools is the topic of the first forum for 2008 in the Edversations series hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Wagga Wagga City Council. Academics from the University’s School of Education in Wagga Wagga will join guests from schools, support agencies and members of the the wider community to discuss the many issues surrounding the problem of bullying. The forum will examine what is bullying, how is it changing in schools, what can schools do  and what are the roles of teachers, parents and students. The forum will involve comment, conversation and questions. CSU wine and cheese will be available after the forum on Wednesday 14 May from 6pm in the council meeting room, Civic Centre, Baylis St, Wagga Wagga.

 

A joint awards ceremony for the faculties of Science and Business will be held at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dubbo Campus on Thursday 8 May. Two students from the School of Nursing and Midwifery in the Faculty of Science and two students from the Faculty of Business will receive Dean’s Awards at the ceremony. They will be acknowledged for their outstanding academic performance by achieving Distinction or High Distinction grades in their studies.

Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews. The Dean’s Awards ceremony will be held from 12.30pm to 2pm on Thursday 8 May in the Dubbo Campus courtyard.

The annual Scholarships and Prizes Presentation Ceremony for the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dubbo Campus will be held on Tuesday 6 May 2008 from 6pm. Head of Dubbo Campus and Director of the Centre for Indigenous Studies, Mr Gary Shipp said that for the first time the ceremony will be held in the Theatrette of the Dubbo RSL Club. “Because we have 14 scholarship and 17 prize winners this year, we decided to move the event to a bigger venue to comfortably accommodate the winners, their families and friends, the Foundation and prize sponsors, and a range of dignitaries including local business people and school principals,” Mr Shipp said. “We aim to expand the number of scholarships and prizes on offer to our students, and we welcome enquiries from any individual or organisation wanting to support the University in this way.”

Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews. The annual Scholarships and Prizes Presentation Ceremony will be held at 6pm, Tuesday 6 May 2008 at The Theatrette of the Dubbo RSL Club. The event will be followed by refreshments on the RSL Rooftop Terrace.

 

The Charles Sturt Foundation was established in 1982 to provide support for the University, its students and their educational activities. The total amount allocated to scholarships is now over $5 million. In 2008 over $600 000 will be awarded to 229 students at scholarship presentation ceremonies across the University. 

Third year adventure ecotourism student at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Mr Peter Barrett has won a Student Achiever Award, to be presented by Tourism Training Australia next week. The award is for students who show outstanding academic and community leadership qualities in their education. Mr Barrett’s academic record has already been recognised through winning the 2006 Albury Freemasons Prize for Academic Excellence as a first year student. He is currently president of the CSU students’ Parks and Eco Club and represents CSU students on the Thurgoona Campus Environmental Advisory Committee. Peter Barrett has also gained practical work experience in Canberra and the United States as a team leader. He will receive his award at a dinner in Sydney on Tuesday 13 May.

The work of a Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff member to provide high quality accommodation for CSU students has been recognised by the Australasian Association of College and University Housing Officers (AACUHO), the national body for University accommodation professionals. Mr James Kelly, from the CSU Division of Student Services, won the Fran O’Brien Award at the Association’s conference in the National Museum, Canberra in April. Overseeing accommodation for about 1 200 CSU students, Mr Kelly is the Manager of Residential Operations on the University’s Bathurst, Dubbo and Orange campuses. The award recognises and encourages outstanding newcomers to student housing and includes financial support for Mr Kelly to attend the 2009 conference. Mr Kelly joined the University in 2004. “Through his dedication and enthusiasm, James has made a valuable contribution to the development of the residential community at CSU,” said Executive Director of CSU Division of Student Services, Mr Andrew Callander. “James has been able to enhance the community support focus of the residential operations.”

Construction of the new 200-bed residential development for Charles Sturt University (CSU) students will commence this month at its Thurgoona site. To be built by Joss Constructions, ten modular concrete and corrugated iron buildings will each house 20 students in self-catering accommodation. The development will include ‘open plan’ kitchens and living areas in each block, with two buildings enclosing an open courtyard. The corrugated iron, which is light, strong, adaptable and durable, highlights the heritage of Australian agricultural buildings while shielding the internal concrete walls from the summer heat. This will enable the student accommodation buildings to maintain a more constant temperature for the residents without the use of expensive air conditioning. Rainwater collected from roofs will be used to flush toilets, while wastewater from kitchens and bathrooms or grey water will be pumped into the existing grey water treatment ponds on the CSU Thurgoona site. The buildings are due to be finished in time for the start of the 2009 academic year. Other buildings already underway at Thurgoona include academic offices and the Learning Commons, which will house a library and computing facilities.

For interviews and pictures of the new student accommodation, contact CSU Media.

Award-winning poet, Ms Petra White returns to the Albury-Wodonga and Riverina regions in May for public poetry readings and workshops hosted by the Booranga Writers’ Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Her first poetry collection, The Incoming Tide, published by John Leonard Press in 2007 , was short listed for Arts Queensland's Judith Wright Calanthe Prize for Poetry. In 2003, Ms White was joint winner of the Patricia Hackett Prize for her poem 'Grave' and her poems were published in The Best Australian Poems series in 2003 and 2006. “Petra's work was very well received when she came to Wagga Wagga with the Poets-On-Wheels tour last year. This time, as well as reading her poetry, Petra will be running workshops for poets and mentoring a local poet.  Poets of all ages and backgrounds will be able to further develop their writing skills and read their poems in front of an audience,” said the Booranga Writers’ Centre’s Mr David Gilbey. Ms White will read her poetry at the Albury City Library on Thursday 8 May at 5.30pm and at an open mike event at the Wagga Wagga City Library on Monday 12 May at 6.30pm. She will lead poetry writing workshops at Booranga Writers Centre, Wagga Wagga on Saturday 10 May and in Griffith on Sunday 11 May. Ms White is hosted by Booranga Writers’ Centre and her visit is jointly funded by CSU and Arts NSW.

A scientist whose ground breaking research pioneered understanding about drought responses in plants will this week visit the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, a research alliance between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) at Wagga Wagga. On Monday 5 May, Professor John Boyer will share his expertise with researchers at the Centre who are focused on improving agricultural production and environmental conservation through science based research. Professor Boyer's work on maize's tolerance of low rainfall allowed plant breeders to develop improved varieties which remain productive in drought conditions. His research also allowed an extension to the area where the plant can be grown across the world. Professor Boyer hails from the University of Delaware in the United States where he is a Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 

Further information about the EH Graham Centre is available here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host a rugby union reunion this Friday 2 to Sunday 4 May to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the victory for the Mitchell 1^st XV in the 1978 NSW Central West Rugby Competition. In 1979 the reserve team won the Central West competition - the next time CSU won the competition was in 2006. All players, coaches and managers associated with the Mitchell Rugby teams of 1978 and 1979 have been invited. Sixty will attend the Reunion Dinner, including the Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, Professor Ian Goulter, and CSU Rugby Club representatives and the winners of the 2007 and 2008 Bathurst Rugby Alumni Scholarships and 2008 Encouragement Award. Many players in the 1978 and 1979 teams also played for NSW and for carious Sydney clubs, including Ross Reynolds who went on to play for Australia in seven tests. Since July 2006, the Rugby alumni have contributed an annual scholarship worth $2 500 each year for three years for a worthy CSU student. 

Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews. Events to be held include:

 

Friday 2 May, 6.00pm - Early bird get together, The Park Hotel, George St, Bathurst.

 

Saturday 3 May, from 12.30pm: Game Day – CSU vs Parkes at CSU Rugby Oval, followed at 7pm Reunion Dinner at James Hardie Dining Room, CSU Centre for Professional Development, Bathurst.

 

Sunday 4 May, farewell brunch in James Hardie Dining Room, CSU Centre for Professional Development, Bathurst.