Charles Sturt University (CSU) animation and visual effects students have put three years of tertiary education into practice by creating short films for a good cause.

The students, who will graduate in December, have produced short animations for local, national and international not-for-profit organisations.

Lecturer from the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Wagga Mr Andrew Hagan said the final year projects make the important link between study and industry practice.

"Over the past four years, our animation and visual effects students have worked with 50 not-for-profit organisations," he said.

"It gives the student a taste of what to expect in the workplace with real clients, briefs and deadlines.

"What makes this special though is that the students have put their skills to use for a not-for-profit cause, which fits with our goal of fostering an environment of innovation, creativity and critical thinking to enhance society, culture and our community."

CSU animation and visual effects student Mr John Oldroyd, from Avalon in Sydney, put together a short medical animation for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance.

"I felt very passionate about working on the project and it gave me the opportunity to expand into a field of animation that is quite different from what we normally work on in the course," he said. "I'm also a big advocate of the organisation as it provides wonderful opportunities and services to people living with cerebral palsy."

Mr Oldroyd is now looking at the possibility of further study or an internship at a visual effects studio in Sydney.

"The animation and visual effects degree is absolutely fantastic and anyone even remotely considering getting into a field like animation or visual effects should definitely check it out because I don't believe there's anything else like it in Australia," he said.

In his animation, Mr Sean Butler from Parkes in central west NSW highlighted the work of CSU Green, a University initiative to improve environmental sustainability.

"I thought it was a good opportunity for experience with clients and to get workplace experience," he said. "Being interested in environmental sustainability, it was also good to be able to help promote it."

CSU Green project officer, Ms Gretel Purser said, "The animation produced by Sean was of a high quality, fulfilled the brief for us as the client and is entertaining to view.

"We look forward to the launch of the LiFE animation in 2015 with the students, Charles Sturt University and the community to promote sustainability."

Another local project that aims to teach the Wiradjuri language to a new generation captured the attention of student Mr Tim Amaro, originally from Griffith.

He worked with local Wiradjuri Elders and Wagga Wagga based production company, Sharing and Learning,  to produce Balang Gaanha Bungangbu Burrami, a Wiradjuri version of the children's song Heads, shoulders, knees and toes.

"I was interested in the work of the Wiradjuri language program and I believe that there isn't enough Indigenous learning material," said Mr Amaro.

"My animation received a great response at the Australian International Animation Festival in May and this has prompted me to continue to work with the group on other productions.

"I feel very lucky to be able to work on such an important project and really enjoyed collaborating with such talented people. A highlight was the experience of working with Dr Stan Grant and the other Wiradjuri Elders."

Student Mr Aaron Murdoch from near Khancoban selected the East Timorese organisation, Seeds of Life for his community project.

"The requirements for Seeds Of Life was to create an educational video to inform the farmers of Timore-Leste how to efficiently and effectively farm a crop of maize," he said.

"I also completed a smaller community project for Field and Game Australia promoting the conservation that is undertaken by hunters in the community. 

"I have a background in hunting and wanted to take the opportunity to inform others about the conservation work of hunters that sometimes gets overlooked.

"My Seeds of Life project was technically challenging.  Due to the language gap we avoided using dialogue or text, making it hard to give direct and simple instructions."

See all the films produced by the CSU animation students here.