In this Year of the Blood Donor staff and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are being asked to donate blood on its five campuses from Monday 2 to Friday 6 March. As part of CSU’s 20th anniversary celebrations this year, the University has issued a ‘North-South’ challenge, with the total staff and student donations at CSU campuses at Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst (North) being tallied against donations at Wagga Wagga and Albury-Wodonga (South). The Head of Campus at CSU at Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, said the University aims to achieve 1 000 donations during the week. “While we have been planning this event for some time, it is given added urgency and significance by the needs of burns victims from the recent bushfires in Victoria,” Mr Sharp said. “I urge all University staff and students to donate blood if they possibly can. It costs nothing, takes less than an hour and does so much good.” One in three Australians will need blood during their lifetime, yet only one in 30 donates blood.

Ten South Korean students have joined five compatriots who arrived in 2009 to enjoy a warm welcome to Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga, part of an expanding collaboration that sees Korean students complete the final two years of undergraduate degrees through CSU’s Faculty of Business. The students are living in the CSU student accommodation at Thurgoona, allowing them to enjoy living and developing friendships with other students. Ms Kim Ji Su, or Sue, said she enjoyed the lively interaction between lecturers and students which was very different to university classes in South Korea, while Mr Choi Kuk Jin said he enjoys playing tennis and other sports which were very expensive in his home country. Head of CSU’s International School of Business and Partnerships, Associate Professor John Atkinson, said the students were “enjoying their educational experience in Albury-Wodonga” and that the number of students from South Korea at CSU in Albury-Wodonga is expected to grow. The first group of Chinese students are due to commence a new Master of Business course based in Albury-Wodonga in the middle of 2010.

New figures released by Charles Sturt University (CSU) show significant savings for the environment in the management of its vehicle fleet. The data prepared by CSU’s Division of Finance reveals that although the distance travelled by CSU vehicles on official business rose last year by eight per cent, from 6.3 million kilometres in 2008 to 6.8 million, the amount of fuel consumed dropped from 664 000 litres in 2008 to 580 000 in 2009, a decline of 84 000 litres or over 12 per cent. “The carbon emissions saved through the greater efficiency of the University’s vehicle fleet is about 380 tonnes of carbon - the equivalent of taking 88 cars off the road for 2009,” said CSU Green Manager, Mr William Adlong. CSU vehicles are used to support staff on official University business including travelling between campuses in five major NSW regional centres as well as in Canberra, Goulburn and Sydney. “We hope to improve these figures with staff encouraged to consider using practical alternatives to travelling between campuses, such as video-conferencing, or sharing vehicles.” Over 60 per cent of CSU’s transport fleet are lower emission vehicles, such as four cylinder petrol, gas, diesel or hybrid.

The earthquake and tsunami that hit Chile on Sunday 28 February are reminders of the harshness of nature and the need for governments, emergency services and relief agencies to plan for natural disasters, says an expert in disaster management from Charles Sturt University (CSU). Mr Ian Manock, lecturer in emergency management at CSU’s Australian Graduate School of Policing, said that with a burgeoning world population and in spite of increasing technology, research shows that the incidence of damage to facilities and harm to people from the impact of natural and technological hazards is increasing exponentially. He said the disaster will no doubt have emergency service agencies in Chile pushed beyond their limits and the international community will be called on to assist.

Commencing on Monday 22 February, Orientation Week  is the traditional start of the university year for new students at Charles Sturt University (CSU). Around 600 students, including part-time students, will commence courses as varied as physiotherapy, teaching, nursing, speech therapy, adventure ecotourism, accountancy and information technology. Head of CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Professor Allan Curtis said Orientation Week activities were vital to introduce new students to study and life at CSU. “Orientation Week provides space for students to become familar with their surroundings, staff and other students. CSU staff are ready to respond to queries about courses and subjects, help students find accommodation, and help them make the most of the cultural and sporting acitivities available in Albury-Wodonga,” Professor Curtis said. Major events during the week include: Monday 22 February - Check-in of new residents to the student residences at Thurgoona; Tuesday 23 February - Official welcome to CSU in Albury-Wodonga by acting Head of Campus, Associate Professor John Atkinson; Tuesday 23 February - Market Day for student-run academic, sporting and leisure clubs and local businesses; Wednesday 24 February – Big BBQ for all new students at lunchtime. Students are officially enrolling this day; and, Friday 26 February – Race Around Thurgoona for new students to help get to know their local area and campus.

The winner of an inaugural national cropping competition has returned to Australia from New Zealand (NZ) to finish his Charles Sturt University (CSU) degree in 2010. Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) student Mr Sandy Middleton, from the School of Agriculture and Wine Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga, won the inaugural Australian University Crops Competition late last year. He was one of five top students to travel to NZ in January to learn about that country’s cropping industry. During the fully-funded four-day industry tour, the group met with local university representatives and visited the New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, a number of farms and a seed production company. Mr Middleton told Get Farming New Zealand, that the trip was a terrific opportunity to learn about crop production in a completely different environment. "The trip gave us an insight into the issues facing New Zealand's grain producers who farm in a cool environment where water is abundant," Mr Middleton said. The CSU student from the Kyeamba Valley near Wagga Wagga is completing his degree by distance education. He is currently working as an agronomist based in Holbrook.

Over 20 students from around NSW and Victoria have received a chance to commence university studies with Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Pathway Program which started last week in Albury and Wodonga. CSU course coordinator Dr Richard Taffe says the students, who have enrolled in CSU’s one-year University Certificate in General Studies, are studying in the first half of 2010 with Wodonga Institute of TAFE and then with CSU in Albury-Wodonga. “Charles Sturt University is committed to giving students from rural and remote areas the opportunity to get a university education and a professional degree,” Dr Taffe said. Wodonga TAFE CEO, Mr Mike O’Loughlin, said the program highlights the collaborative partnership being developed by CSU and Wodonga TAFE that provide sustainable pathways for students into tertiary education in regional Australia. The first group of students come from as far as Nowra, Griffith and country Victoria to study for the University Certificate, which is one of a number of transition programs being offered by the University.

International food manufacturer Mars Petcare is helping put more ‘real life’ experience into Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) accounting degree by providing two CSU students with internships at its Wodonga headquarters. Mars Supply Finance Manager Mr Nathan Quinlivan said the company was happy to provide opportunities for local people to experience work at a global leader in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. “Charles Sturt University accounting students were invited to submit applications to undertake internships and were then short listed for interview and selection by Mars, with Mr Brian Kemp and Mr Mark Wilde chosen for the internships,” Mr Quinlivan said. Head of CSU’s School of Accounting, Associate Professor Ross Wilson, said the internships are part of the new work experience in industry subjects developed by CSU’s Faculty of Business. He said the new internships were timely given the release of an Australian Council for Education Research report which called on universities to provide more internship opportunities for undergraduate students, showing CSU was ahead in identifying the need to offer hands-on work experiences that better equip graduates when they finish their degrees. Students who complete the structured internships also receive credit for an elective subject in the CSU accounting degree program. Professor Wilson thanked Mars for its initiative and called for other regional firms interested in providing similar opportunities to local students to contact the School of Accounting at CSU in Albury-Wodonga.

The effective management of diabetes, one of Australia’s major health problems, will come through input from a range of health professionals, not just a general practitioner (GP), says Professor of Rural and Remote Pharmacy Patrick Ball of Charles Sturt University (CSU). In response to the Federal Government’s plan to keep the growing number of diabetics out of hospital, Professor Ball said one-on-one professional input from diabetes educators, dietitians, pharmacists, physiotherapists and exercise physiologists are needed to tackle the health problem. “While additional resources are welcome, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s plan seems to lack a clear appreciation of how the outcomes will best be delivered, particularly in inland Australia,” Professor Ball said. “While the GP must always be kept in the information loop, routing all the resources through already over-worked general practices is unlikely to be the best way to achieve the outcomes for which the government is aiming.” Professor Ball believes the successful control of Type 2 Diabetes requires that the diabetic takes their prescribed treatment but successful management also requires a change of diet and lifestyle.  “This has to come from the person, the family and the community.  How can one person change their diet if the rest of their household will not?  How can people walk more if we don’t have safe streets and pavements?” questioned Professor Ball.