The Mayor of Wagga Wagga, Councillor Rod Kendall, will this week formally welcome to Australia five new Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from developing countries. The students have secured Australia Awards Scholarships from the federal government to study at CSU in Orange and Wagga Wagga from 2014. The mayoral reception will be held from 3pm Thursday 6 February, upstairs at the Civic Theatre, Burns Way in Wagga Wagga. The five students from Ghana, Lesotho, Nigeria, South Africa, and Vietnam will study either the Master of Animal Science or Master of Sustainable Agriculture. Until the start of on-campus classes on Monday 3 March, the students will participate in an Introductory Academic Program to familiarize themselves with life and study in Australia. They will also participate in the University's week-long Orientation 2014 from Monday 24 February. The University's senior learning skills advisor, Dr Peter Butler, said, "These six Australia Awards scholars have the ability to use their new knowledge to bring change in their countries. This is the first year that four scholars will have come from Africa."