Education, industrial relations and a low carbon future is the topic of a public lecture to be presented by Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) President Sharan Burrow at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury on Thursday 23 April. Ms Burrow says Australian education institutions are well placed to deepen workforce planning and frame skills development to meet the challenges facing Australia. "We must position ourselves to ensure we have the education and skills to capture a half trillion dollar share of a three trillion dollar global green industry. Our universities and colleges, businesses and unions, must drive demand for research and development and for an intensity of skills effort like never before, and government must stand ready to partner these plans.  Our workplaces must meet the industrial challenges and changes this new economy requires," Ms Burrow said. The second annual Bob Meyenn Education Lecture will commence at 7.30pm in the Nowik Auditorium, CSU Albury City site, Guinea St, Albury.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Faculty of Business will hail the academic success of its students and prospective graduates during a ceremony to be held this week in Albury. Business graduate Rebecca Penglase will receive  special attention for her achievements after winning the top Faculty award, the Faculty of Business Award for Outstanding Achievement, to complement the University Medal she receives the following day. Accounting graduate Elizabeth Hildebrand will receive the top ICA Prize for the Most Outstanding Accounting Graduating Student at CSU. In all 26 prizes will be presented to 16 students by the Dean of the Faculty of Business, Professor John Hicks, during the ceremony to be held at 10am on Friday 24 April in the School of Business and Information Technology building on the University’s Thurgoona site, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

Students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will honour the men and women of Australia’s armed services, past and present, when they lay a wreath at the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Carillon War Memorial in Kings Parade, Bathurst, on Saturday 25 April. Mr Tim East, a third year student at the School of Teacher Education and the head resident of Chifley Halls at the CSU Bathurst Campus, said that today’s students want to play a part to continue and preserve the ANZAC legacy. “CSU students attended the Dawn Service last year and felt they were missing out,” Mr East said. “We wanted to unite the University’s student community with the rest of Bathurst, and to formally pay our respect on behalf of the residences at CSU. Many of us have family members who served in the armed forces, or have mates who are serving now. We want CSU students to stand proud as Australians and hold the values of determination, courage, compassion and resourcefulness throughout their lives.”

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student has secured a national scholarship to assist her research into the development of multi-purpose health services in rural NSW. PhD student Ms Judith Anderson is the recipient of the Joan Hardy Scholarship from the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU). The Joan Hardy Scholarship for postgraduate nursing research recognises the contributions the late Joan Hardy made to higher education and higher education unionism.“I was involved in a small rural health service when it became a ‘multi-purpose service’, making me intrigued by the cultural change and leading me to begin my study in 2006,” said Ms Anderson, who is studying through the School of Nursing and Midwifery at CSU at Bathurst. Her thesis examines the process of developing this new model of health care for small rural communities. “As the majority of staff and managers who work at these facilities are nurses, this study aims to give them a voice, enabling them to describe current practices and their roles within this process. I hope that recommendations and guidelines will emerge from this to enable the process to be improved in the future.”

Wiradjuri and religious leader, the late Pastor Cec Grant, will be honoured this week in a public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury. The Pastor Cec Grant (Wongamar) Lecture for 2009 will be delivered by CSU academic Yalmambirra from the University’s School of Environmental Science. CSU established the annual lecture in 2008 in collaboration with the Wiradjuri Council of Elders and the Wiradjuri Christian Development Ministries. Pastor Grant was a leading Wiradjuri elder who made important contributions to the development of Indigenous education at the University. The lecture, the second in the series, will commence at 7pm on Friday 1 May in the Nowik Lecture Theatre, on CSU’s Albury City site, Guinea St, Albury.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be well represented at a key international event for developers and IT professionals in June. The week-long Apple World-Wide Developers Conference 2009 (WWDC) will be held in San Francisco, California,from Monday 8 June,and third year Bachelor of Computer Science (Games Technology) student Mr David Winder, from Bathurst, has won a $3 200 Apple University Consortium (AUC) Competitive Student Scholarship to attend. “To be able to meet and communicate with some of the leading intellects in the industry is extremely exciting,” said Mr Winder. He’ll be joining CSU PhD student Mr James Bekkema who received a two year AUC Student Developer Scholarship in 2008 to attend the same event. “The conference is vital for those who work or study in the computer industry as the sessions provide incredibly valuable information on the current and future state of software technologies, such as OpenCL and ‘Grand Central’,” said Mr Bekkema, who is also based in Bathurst. “However one of the most important aspects of WWDC is the networking. I have met extremely talented developers and have made valuable contacts within the industry.”

Residents of Albury-Wodonga are urged to think about their health and take advantage of free blood pressure checks being offered by Charles Sturt University (CSU) nursing students as part of Wodonga Library’s Health Week promotion from Monday 27 April to Saturday 2 May. A group of CSU nursing students, under the supervision of lecturer Ms Sharon Laver, have volunteered their time during the University’s mid-semester break to take blood pressure of residents, while allied health students including speech therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists will talk about promoting good health. The students and academics will also provide course information to people interested in a career in health through the CSU Faculty of Science.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff and students will be out to show school students from Wodonga Middle Years School that anyone from anywhere can aspire to go to the University. The Year 9 students who are from various cultural and lower socio-economic backgrounds will attend a mock lecture, tour facilities on the Albury-Wodonga Campus at Thurgoona and take part in a Permablitz that will be running on site during their visit on Friday 30 October. The students are taking part in the American-based program, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), which is supported by CSU. “AVID helps students to understand their options and encourages them to continue their education to Year 12 and beyond. It is a ‘can do’ project that works closely with students to raise their self-esteem and create a positive attitude,” said Ms Sandra Boyd, event coordinator and CSU Equity Officer.

A one-day event that highlights the new Inland Learning Experience (ILE) centre on Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Thurgoona site will also see the start of permaculture gardens around the centre in a big rush! A so-called ‘Permablitz’ will be held for one day with assistance from public groups and interested individuals, starting at 8am on Friday 30 October at the ILE cottage. Event and ILE coordinator Dr John Rafferty says the Permablitz is a free event where the public can “learn a lot, share food, get some exercise and have a great time outside” while establishing public vegetable gardens based on permaculture principles around the ILE cottage. “The ILE provides a platform for the University and the Border community to work together on key issues involving sustainability,” Dr Rafferty says. For details on the CSU ILE Permablitz, including how to get involved, contact Dr Rafferty from CSU’s Murray School of Education on (02) 6051 9406 or email jrafferty@csu.edu.au.