As the Federal Government urges innovation in housing and urban design to take Australia’s ageing population into account, one scenario could be acres of empty ‘McMansions’ as older people flee to smaller homes with easy access to healthcare and social ties. Community for All Ages – Building the Future seminars were recently held all over the country to discuss the topic. Facilitated by Dr Keith Suter, he will now put together a formal report and other findings and recommendations. Celia Bevan, senior lecturer in Gerontology at Charles Sturt University, says "one of the interesting things to come out of this circuit of conferences is that architecturally, we should be looking at housing which is adaptable", homes that are accessible for everybody, regardless of age or ability or mobility. It’s called Universal Design, but unlike architecture, the emotional needs of older Australians are anything but universal. "There are people who absolutely love retirement villages and that life suits them, but then there are other people who do not. To just look at an ageing population and say well, this is the kind of housing they would want would be as disastrous as leaving it as it currently is." But can governments successfully legislate for change? Probably not, according to Ms Bevan. "The will has to be there and the cultural shift has to occur. Obviously architects and the housing industry have to be able to see that there’s something in it for them, because our whole philosophy around housing is around profit as well. The industry has to be persuaded to see that it is in their interest to engage in a new form of housing."

Is it fair that educational achievement can depend on where you live? Anecdotally, it is known that young, inexperienced teachers fresh out of university are usually sent to unpopular destinations such as western NSW. Another assumption is that school students in these areas have uneven educational outcomes. Now these "hunches" have been verified by the Rural (Teacher) Education Project, and the search is on for some solutions. "It’s all about attracting, preparing, retaining and renewing teachers for the bush," said project leader Professor Bill Green from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Faculty of Education. "One key issue was that location matters. You’re getting young teachers working with often the most disadvantaged groups. They have energy and enthusiasm and embrace innovation, but the downside is they don’t have experience." Some of the early recommendations to emerge include nominating certain isolated schools as professional development centres, better preparation of student teachers, changing staffing patterns so that groups of teachers are appointed to a region, and involving local communities and government agencies so that young professionals are connecting socially. More complete findings are due next month.

"I thought it would be useful to have some industry qualifications,” says Tristam Horn, an Accelerated Teacher Training Program student, of his decision to gain certification in Microsoft® Office. Coming first in Australia in his Excel examination saw the Charles Sturt University (CSU) student win a trip to Orlando, Florida in the USA, where he was then crowned World Champion for Microsoft® Excel. “I learnt a lot that I didn’t know Excel could do. It gave me a better understanding of what it is capable of as far as recording students marks, scaling, grading and graphing, both for my benefit and also for the students to see where they are in the class and in the year. It is an easy way to see how students are going in different areas of their study, and I can see where I need to improve my teaching and hopefully deliver a bit better the next time."

Diseases in one of Australia’s important rotational crops, canola, are the subject of a 12 month long research visit to the E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation by Professor Minquan Li from China. As Head of the Department of Plant Protection at Gansu Agricultural University in China, Professor Li will work alongside two E H Graham Centre researchers in Wagga Wagga, Associate Professor Gavin Ash from Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Doctor Gordon Murray, from the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI). The E H Graham Centre is a joint research venture between CSU and DPI. The management of bacteria and pathogens in the soil will be examined as they prevent the crop from reaching its full potential. “Professor Li’s trip demonstrates the scope for international co-operation in agricultural research and aims to increase the ties between Australia and China in the long term,” said E H Graham Centre Director Professor Deirdre Lemerle.

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The largest wetland restoration project in the southern hemisphere, the rehabilitation of the Winton Wetlands in north east Victoria, has been praised by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) ecologist as an example of active community participation. Professor Max Finlayson from the Institute for Land Water and Society at CSU in Albury-Wodonga is one of the scientists addressing the Winton Wetlands Research Forum to be held on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 August. Professor Finlayson will be talking about managing and restoring wetlands of international significance. "The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands encourages management to be placed in a catchment context and for local communities to be involved in maintaining or restoring an agreed ecological character," he said. "The Winton Wetland Management Committee is a long journey to establish a world class wetland and one that they are trying to do well by getting expert advice and working with their community." Professor Finlayson is lending his expertise as Chairman of the Environment Strategic Advisory Panel for the Winton Wetland Management Committee.

There will be chess moves aplenty when primary and secondary school students participate in the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Albury-Wodonga Schools Chess Challenge on Wednesday 2 November 2016.CSU Division of Information Technology Business Analyst, Ms Marian Wolmarans said last year's event was very successful."Last year we had around 100 students on campus for the Chess Challenge with bishops, kings and queens outmanoeuvring each other and we are expecting similar numbers again this year," Mrs Wolmarans said."The event is sponsored by Charles Sturt University's Albury-Wodonga Head of Campus and we are proud to promote such a creative day for young minds."The entry fees for participants are being covered thanks to a CSU Community-University Partnerships grant for education development.Schools can register for the event at https://au.tornelo.com/tournaments/charles-sturt-university--1Mrs Wolmarans said, "Chess Kids Australia will also be sending a representative for the day to facilitate the seven-round tournament. There are two categories, primary and secondary – and Charles Sturt University offers a trophy to the winning team, to take back to their school for display for the year."The event can even be followed online here on the day as the rounds progress.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) scientists will be paying particular attention to birds and pollinating insects in Albury streets over the next few months.The researchers will be conducting a survey of the native birds and insects that pollinate gardens to investigate the impact of urbanisation.Ecologist from CSU's School of Environmental Sciences, Dr Dale Nimmo said, "As Albury is expanding and its population is increasing, it's important to understand how this impacts biodiversity, including those species that occur in the heart of the city."The project, which will have CSU researchers walking Albury's streets in search of native birds and pollinators, is part of a wider study looking at the best way to grow regional cities while minimising the impact on biodiversity."To help protect biodiversity in cities as they expand, there are two options. 'Land sharing' happens when people are spread thinly in low-density 'leafy' suburbs, which allow species to occur within urban areas" Dr Nimmo said."On the other hand, 'Land sparing' dedicates some areas for high density housing and other parts for large-scale biodiversity conservation, such as nature reserves"."We want to see if the best way to conserve our biodiversity is land sharing, land sparing or a combination of both."The project will look at birds and pollinator insects as these two groups of animals can respond differently to urban environments.Ecologist from CSU's Institute for Land Water and Society, Dr Manu Saunders said, "There've been very few studies done on pollinator insects in Australia's urban areas. But urban gardens can actually be great habitats for native bees and other pollinator insects, provided they have lots of different flowers and low pesticide use." The research has been funded by a CSU Sustainability Research Seed Grant, through CSU Green and the WH Gladstones Population and Environment Fund.The bird and pollinator surveys will run from January until mid-2017

A group of 21 Charles Sturt University (CSU) MBA students has received a first hand account of the European business environment through a joint program with the University of Applied Sciences, Berne , in . Through a combination of classes taught by academics and business practitioners, as well as visits to world leading organisations in and , the subject Doing Business in Europe offers MBA students at the University the opportunity to experience the challenges and practicalities of conducting business in Europe. The two-week trip to in August included visits to the headquarters of Roche Pharmaceuticals, Credit Suisse, and Daimler Chrysler. “It is vital that MBA programs include the opportunity for students to experience the dynamics of other industries, and an insight into other cultures,” said CSU’s Professor Mark Farrell.