Charles Sturt University’s latest international venture in Ontario has been welcomed with a resounding response.

Launched on Monday 29 August, more than 100 students began their first day of Bachelor of Primary Education studies with a high level of enthusiasm matched only by that of the Burlington community and the Ontario media. 

CSU’s Head of the Ontario Program, Professor Tom Lowrie, said the pace of the first morning was “frantic but exciting”. 

The Hamilton Spectator led its story with the headline “Chasing dreams close to home”, with new student Kim Wallace saying she thought the CSU program “would be a good fit for me. It’s close to home and I like the co-op aspect … I’ll be better prepared when I go out into the real world”. 

Coverage highlighted that three of the staff are Australian professors and another three are experts with the Halton District School Board. Student Lynda Schreiber, a former Halton public school trustee said, “I know some of the staff here. They have a dream team”. 

CSU was one of the first foreign institutions to receive consent to operate as a University in the province and is the first to open its doors to students.

The CSU program aims to alleviate the pressure of students having to relocate to gain their qualifications and student-teachers are assigned to the same school for the entire school year to gain their practical teaching experience.