• Charles Sturt to host full day of immersive experiences for high school students exploring a career in agriculture, animal science or veterinary science

High school students from Tamworth and Armidale were given first-hand experience of a potential career and study options in agriculture and wine sciences, and animal and veterinary sciences, by Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga.

Agriculture and veterinary science are among Charles Sturt’s most popular courses in Wagga Wagga, and the University’s agriculture and environment graduates are the top in the state for obtaining full-time employment within four months of graduating, according to the Good Universities Guide.

Charles Sturt’s Faculty of Science and Health, with the Global Digital Farm and AgriPark’s Red Meat Innovation Centre, hosted the event for 60 high school students in Years 10 and 11 from Tamworth and Armidale.

Students attended the Agriculture, Animal and Veterinary Science Experience Day at Charles Sturt in Wagga Wagga on Monday 23 October as part of the Tamworth and District Careers Advisors Network. Students participated in range of sessions across the day.

University academics and industry experts informed the high school students on the diversity of careers in agriculture while demonstrating how Wagga Wagga is a centre for diverse farming systems, broad acre cropping, irrigation, mixed farming, and industry.

Experts from the AgriPark, Global Digital Farm, Red Meat Innovation Centre, Charles Sturt Winery and the School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences gave demonstrations on the following:

• Digital agriculture
• Data management, livestock, landscape and environment and plants
• How to gather data to increase on-farm productivity
• Soil science workshop titled ‘Soil saves the world’
• Examining skeletons and anatomy to discover a world in animal, equine and veterinary sciences
• A workshop on ‘where does your lambchop come from?’ by the Red Meat Innovation Centre
• A Viticulture and Vineyard workshop by the Charles Sturt Winery
• A Global Digital Farm tour, including equine facilities, the Rhizolysimeter, Farm HQ, Dhulura Farm drone flying and ag tech display and the Gen Z Drought Resilience Grazing farms.

Marketing Business Partner Ms Belinda Doherty in the Faculty of Science and Health said Charles Sturt wants to attract more agriculture students to build a stronger workforce for the future.

“Immersive hands-on activations and workshops are the perfect way to showcase our Wagga Wagga campus facilities, our innovation, and research. The event was a huge success,” she said.

“Students walked away with new skills to help them understand that an agriculture career is more than farming.

“Graduates can work anywhere along the supply chain, from farm production to marketing, to climate change and sustainability, and jobs in the regions or the city, across Australia or around the world.”