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ALBURY-WODONGA
Home > Regional News > Albury-Wodonga
Investing in inland Australia
24 Sep 2008
 Plans by Charles Sturt University (CSU) to invest tens of millions of dollars in infrastructure for inland Australia in coming years will be delivered directly to the construction and building industry during briefings this month. Hosted by CSU’s Division of Facilities Management (DFM), the industry briefings will be held in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 24 September and in Bathurst on Tuesday 30 September. “The briefings allow us to talk directly with local and national building professionals, contractors and consultants that are interested in partnering with CSU to deliver the extensive infrastructure investment across our campuses,” said Mr Stephen Butt, Executive Director of DFM. “The University’s programs of Veterinary Science in Wagga Wagga and Dentistry in Orange and Wagga Wagga are well advanced but we also have plans that include major refurbishment of teaching spaces and laboratories across the campuses, construction of student amenities and facilities, office upgrades and improvements to sporting facilities,” said Mr Butt. “The University Strategy is supported by between $150 million to $175 million dollars worth of capital expenditure over the next three to five years.” A recent national call for expressions of interest for the registration on the University’s ‘Multi Vendor List’ prompted 400 companies to download documents from CSU.
Media Note: CSU’s Mr Stephen Butt is available for interview. The industry briefings will be held in the Wagga Wagga RSL Club on Wednesday 24 September from 10.30am to 12.30pm and in the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre on Tuesday 30 September from 10.30am to 12.30pm. An agenda for the industry briefings is available here.
Print this story Funding boost for sustainable farming practices
23 Sep 2008
 Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) strong tradition of working with farmers to provide solutions to agricultural challenges is continuing through collaboration on a project with Murrumbidgee Landcare to manage drought through sustainable farming systems. Funded by grocery giant Woolworths, the project was launched by the NSW Minister for Primary Industries, The Hon. Ian Macdonald, MP, at the Henty Machinery Fields Days in the Riverina on Tuesday 23 September. Researchers from the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation will work on the project with Murrumbidgee Landcare and farmers at Henty, Junee, Mirrool Creek and Harden. Centre director Professor Deirdre Lemerle says encouraging farmers to retain the stubble from cereal crops, rather than burning it, increases soil moisture and carbon content. “The funding means we can continue to work closely with farmers to manage stubble for soil health, which, in association with integrated weed management, aims to secure the long term sustainability of agriculture,” she said.
Media Note: The NSW Minister for Primary Industries, The Hon. Ian Macdonald, MP, launched the $150 000 Woolworths sponsored project ’Sustainable Farming Drought Program’ at the Henty Machinery Fields Days. The EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation is a collaborative alliance between CSU and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Print this story Mental health workers for Indigenous Australia
23 Sep 2008
 An innovative Charles Sturt University (CSU) program to educate and train Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to work as mental health and drug and alcohol practitioners in their communities will be on show later this week. Nine final year students in the Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health) will attend an Indigenous mental health conference on CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus on Thursday 25 September. The students from across Australia will address mental health topics involving colonisation, carers, Aboriginal women, drugs and sexual assault. Known as the Djirruwang Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health program, the course aims to build workforce capacity and improve health care in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by equipping the graduates to work in mainstream and cultural organisations and communities. The conference is being held during the students’ final residential school at CSU. Professor Elaine Duffy, Head of the CSU School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mr Ray Eldridge, the Manager of CSU Indigenous Support Unit, and Mr Wayne Rigby, the Director of the Djirruwang program, will also address the conference.
Media Note: The conference will be held in the Convention Centre, CSU, Wagga Wagga, from 9am to 4pm. A Welcome to Country by Wiradjuri Elders will be held at 9.10am. The conference will also hear from Ms Christine Fejo-King, the Indigenous co-Chair of the Stolen Generation Alliance and the Chair of the National Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Workers, Ms Jenna Bateman, Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Coordinating Council, the peak body for community mental health organisations in NSW. A program for the conference is available from CSU Media. The Djirruwang program was awarded a citation in 2008 from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning and an award in 2007 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Initiative. Read more about the Djirruwang program here.
Print this story 'Green' building open for business
23 Sep 2008
 Charles Sturt University (CSU) academics have moved into their new ‘green home’ as part of the next phase of the University’s $40 million building program at Thurgoona. The building will initially house over 20 academic, research and general staff from the new School of Business and Information Technology (SBIT). It includes a ground-breaking material which helps regulate temperatures inside buildings to reduce the need for air conditioning. Developed by German-based industrial chemical company BASF, the building material is in the form of special plaster boards and flooring screed. This material includes small granules of a waxlike material that liquefies at higher temperatures, increasing its capacity to absorb heat from surrounding air. The building also includes other energy saving and environmentally friendly features such as double glazed windows, good use of daylight to reduce the need for office lighting, rainwater collection for flushing toilets, an automated building management system to control ventilation and temperature, and roof funnels for purging hot air from the building at night. The University is awaiting final notification of the ‘green star’ rating of the building with the Green Building Council of Australia.
Media Note: For interviews about the new building, contact CSU Media. Print this story Students in partnership with stroke victims
23 Sep 2008
 With a significant percentage of stroke victims left with speech and language impairments, Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) speech pathology course is training a new generation of therapists to ensure that the focus is always on getting people back to the activities that are important to them. Lecturer at CSU’s School of Community Health, Ms Libby Clark, believes that rehabilitation after stroke is something that should not stop at the hospital door. “It needs to reach right back to the community level to support people who have strokes to get back into the everyday activities that give their lives meaning,” she says. “The CSU program strongly emphasises the social aspects of health to students. This teaches them to think beyond what the person can’t do, and to think about what the person can do, and what everyday activities are important to the person. Our students get very practical, hands-on experience during the four year course, with a real emphasis on working in partnership with the client and their families.”
Media Note: For interviews with speech pathology lecturers and PhD students contact CSU Media.
Print this story Promoting leadership skills
23 Sep 2008
Special recognition has been given by Charles Sturt University (CSU) to several staff for their commitment to developing their leadership and management skills. CSU Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Ian Goulter, attended a special presentation for the staff in Wagg Wagga on Monday 22 September for the seven staff who completed the Graduate Certificate in University Leadership and Management. The qualification is offered through the CSU Faculty of Business as part of a CSU objective to provide a range of learning opportunities and resources for current and future leaders. The staff are Mr Peter Jones, Manager of Campus Services in the Division of Facilities Management (DFM) at the Albury-Wodonga Campus; Ms Shelley McMenamin, University Records Manager in the Division of Information Technology (DIT), Albury-Wodonga Campus; Mr Jorge Rebolledo, Academic Registrar and lecturer in Research Methods at the United Theological College, Parramatta Campus; Mr Brian Roberson, Manager, Technology Integration in DIT, Bathurst Campus; Mr Wayne Millar, Director of Operations in the DFM; Mr Sam Parker, Team Leader, Systems and Business Processes at the Learning Materials Centre at Wagga Wagga Campus; and Mrs Miriam Dayhew, University Ombudsman.
Print this story Universities must educate for social justice
22 Sep 2008
.jpg) A keynote address by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic to a national conference in Melbourne on Monday 22 September will advocate that the concept of ‘cultural competence’ is necessary as a teaching framework for university-trained professionals because social attitudes and the services professionals provide to Indigenous Australians remain powerful barriers to achieving social justice. Ms Wendy Nolan, lecturer and Deputy Director of the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Centre for Indigenous Studies at its Dubbo Campus in NSW, will speak on Changing Paradigms, Changing Practices: A Cultural Competency Approach at the Indigenous Australians: Safe and Competent Counselling Practices Conference. “Australia’s professionals must have the skills to increase their professional capacity to work effectively to achieve social justice for Indigenous Australians,” Ms Nolan said. “Australian universities have a significant role to ensure that all graduates have a sound knowledge and understanding of Indigenous cultures, histories and issues.”
Media Note: Contact CSU Media to arrange interviews with Ms Wendy Nolan. Ms Nolan will deliver her keynote address, Changing Paradigms, Changing Practices: A Cultural Competency Approach, at the Indigenous Australians: Safe and Competent Counselling Practices Conference, at Swinburne University, Lilydale Campus, at 4pm Monday 22 September. More information re Ms Nolan’s topic can be found here.
Print this story CSU academic gets buzz out of diabetes research
19 Sep 2008
 Spring has definitely sprung with daffodils blooming and bees buzzing, which also announces ‘Buzz Day’, a Diabetes Australia initiative raising funds into diabetes research. Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic Dr Herbert Jelinek supports the day, saying “Events like Buzz Day are essential to raise funds for research into diabetes," he says. "Without these funds, research projects like the studies we are conducting at CSU in the Border region could not happen.” A diabetes expert, Dr Herbert Jelinek is concerned at the rapid growth of diabetes on the Border and around Australia in recent years. “Diabetes is the fastest growing disease in Australia, a trend reflected in regional areas including Albury-Wodonga,” he said. An annual fundraising event, Diabetes Buzz Day is the biggest appeal by Diabetes Australia and aims to raise $400 000 for diabetes awareness, education, research and advocacy programs.
Media Note: For more information on Buzz Day visit here and for interviews contact CSU Media. Print this story Choose science degree now
16 Sep 2008
 The recent decision by the Federal government to reduce the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) loan repayments for science and mathematics programs offered by Australian universities is a positive message for young Australians, especially those in inland areas, says the Dean of the Faculty of Science at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Nick Klomp. “The move recognises the importance of science for Australia’s future in the knowledge world,” he says. “Although total university enrolments have increased in recent decades, enrolments in science courses have not. This recent federal announcement will help Australia obtain the science graduates it needs to meet the scientific, environmental and technological challenges of the 21st century.” CSU offers science courses in such diverse areas as agricultural, veterinary and wine sciences, dental, biomedical and health sciences, environmental and water sciences, and science teaching.
Media Note: For interviews with Professor Nick Klomp, contact CSU Media. Print this story Carbon trading top guns for Albury seminar
16 Sep 2008
 With climate change and carbon trading high on the national agenda, Border organisation will look at the opportunities for local farmers and land mangers to take advantage of the proposed carbon trading system. Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS), in collaboration with Australian Alpine Valleys Agribusiness Forum, will host a forum on Wednesday 17 September to discuss carbon trading and its implications for rural businesses and wider communities, including the genuine and ‘other’ entrepreneurs who are expected to offer environmental services to them. The panel of carbon trading and environmental experts will include Martijn Wilder, head of Baker & McKenzie's global change and emissions trading practice, and Professor Max Finlayson, ILWS director and internationally recognised wetland ecologist and advisor to the Australian Prime Minister on carbon trading, as well as Professors Mark Morrison and Allan Curtis from ILWS. Other partners in the event are the Victorian North East Catchment Management Authority, the Victorian Department of Primary Industries and Plantations North East.
Media Note: For more information on the Environmental Services seminar, contact Margrit Beemster on (02) 6051 9653. See the seminar program here. The seminar will be held on Wednesday 17 September at CSU’s Nowik Lecture Theatres, Guinea St, Albury. Print this story |
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