Selected personnel from one of the nation's leading media organisations last week completed the final phase of a specially-tailored course at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst.

Mr David Maxwell, lecturer in advertising and commercial radio in the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst said the 12-week course was designed and delivered for Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) following discussions with CEO Mr Grant Blackley.

"SCA operates 79 radio stations around Australia and employs 2 800 staff," Mr Maxwell said. "Participation in the course was limited to 20 SCA staff in this first trial course, and further courses are expected to follow."

The participating SCA staff undertook a semester of online study with CSU which concluded with a one-week intensive residential school in Bathurst that concluded with a final assessment of student teams pitching campaigns to an expert panel of academics including the Executive Dean of the CSU Faculty of Arts and Education, Professor Lesley White, and SCA executives on Friday 21 October.

The residential school assessment task set for the SCA participants was to develop a new multi-platform media brand/program and prepare a presentation to pitch the program and your promotional plans (including a communications plan, press releases, media kit, and advertising proposal) to SCA.

Attending the final-day student teams' assessment presentations were SCA's CEO Mr Grant Blackley (pictured centre with CSU personnel and SCA staff students), SCA's Head of Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Communications Ms Creina Chapman, and General Manager of SCA in Orange Mr Steve Golfin.

A SCA film crew also covered the event to gather footage to promote of the next phase of the special professional development course for SCA staff.