Eight Charles Sturt University (CSU) International School of Business staff leave for China later this month to conduct intensive professional enhancement programs with their counterparts at four Chinese universities. Tianjin University of Commerce, Yunnan University of Economics and Finance, Changchun Taxation College and Yangzhou University are strategic partners with CSU for the delivery of business studies courses to international students overseas. Professor Alan Fish is Head of the International School of Business at CSU. He explains that the articulation agreements with the four Chinese institutions means students can graduate with both Chinese and western qualifications, making the students more employable. “We will be conducting intensive face-to-face sessions with the Chinese academics to familiarise them with assessment procedures and content of the CSU subjects,” Professor Fish said.

The new Director of Charles Sturt University's National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, Professor Thomas Henick-Kling will draw on his commercial and research experience to talk about the latest wine research developments worldwide at a evening dinner in Albury on Monday 23 July. A native of Germany, Professor Henick Kling is a wine microbiologist with commercial and experimental winemaking experience and knowledge of wines from Germany, France, USA, Australia and New Zealand. He has returned to Australia after 20 years with the prestigious Cornell University in USA. He has judged international wine competitions in USA and Europe and is on editorial boards for two international wine research journals. Participants will hear from Professor Henick-Kling before enjoying a two course meal in the Border Wine Room, Dean St, Albury.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) and TAFE NSW Riverina Institute will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) next week to give people in Deniliquin the opportunity to study for a Diploma-Degree in Social Work. CSU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers said “We see our partnership as an important step in providing regional students with access to education. Social work is more relevant than ever to the needs of our rural and regional communities, and job prospects are very high as we are seeing gaps in service delivery accentuated by our worst drought in history.” Charles Sturt University is acknowledged as a leading provider of social work graduates. Professor Chambers and Ms Rosemary Campbell, Director of the Riverina Institute, will officially sign the MoU on behalf of their institutions. 

Three Charles Sturt University (CSU) students have topped the University’s sparkling wine production course in 2006. The wine science students - Sophie Houghton, Graeme Scott and Steve Balog - each received 12 bottles of wine from Domaine Chandon, Australia’s leading producer of sparkling wine. Subject Coordinator, Professor Geoff Scollary, said that the contribution of Domaine Chandon to the teaching program was a major factor in the success of the final year Sparkling Wine Production subject. “Students get the opportunity to taste wines, to blend wines ready for commercial release, and to hear from leading sparkling wine makers,” he said. The School of Wine and Food Sciences has a long history of collaboration with Domaine Chandon, with the company’s CEO, Dr Tony Jordan as the first wine science lecturer at CSU in the late 1970s.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design graduate Emily Harris has won a national competition to create a new design for National Youth Week (NYW) 2008. Emily’s design features the slogan Shout, Share, Live, Unite. The pink, blue, white and black creation will be used on NYW 2008 promotional material, including websites and posters. Ms Harris, from the NSW inland city of Wagga Wagga, says she was "so happy, it was awesome". Ms Harris studied a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design at CSU Wagga Wagga Campus then began working for Melbourne design firm House Mouse in mid-2007. “It’s an industry that is tough to break into because it is so competitive”, she says, and her advice to prospective graphic designers is to "stick with it if it is your dream”. Emily relished the opportunity for creativity that the National Youth Week Design Competition offered, saying that it was an exciting "opportunity to express your own form of design".

A Federal Government inquiry into school students’ knowledge of Australia’s history has led to a new Charles Sturt University (CSU) history course for teachers being launched for 2007. Course coordinator and history and politics lecturer Dr Troy Whitford said there is a real gap in the knowledge students and teachers have about Australia’s democratic process and its history. “This course aims to address many teachers’ poor understanding of Australian history and help teachers to address the need to teach about Australia’s democratic processes and citizenship in their classes. The Graduate Certificate in History (Civics and Citizenship) relates to relevant sections in other teaching subjects for social science, geography and modern history giving graduates a big picture understanding, particularly in relation to the organisation and operation of the Australian democratic system,” Dr Whitford said. Enrolments for the postgraduate course, to start in 2007, will run until November 2006. The Federal Government will hold a summit on teaching Australian history in August this year.

It is a week of celebration this week at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Albury-Wodonga Campus with a number of events highlighting the achievements of CSU students. The academic excellence of current allied health, business, environmental science and information technology students will be rewarded during prize giving ceremonies to be held around Albury this Thursday 27 and Friday 28 April. Some of the University’s top students will also be recognised at the CSU Foundation Scholarships evening where they will receive scholarships worth $2 000 to $6 000 from international and local businesses and organisations on this Thursday evening 27 April. Celebrations in the town will culminate on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 April at three formal graduation ceremonies for over 500 graduates to be held at the Albury Convention and Performing Arts Centre in central Albury.

Last week the Federal Government announced its high-profile appointments to the Youth Mental Health Foundation Advisory Board to advise on ways to improve access to mental health services for the nation’s 12 to 25-year-olds. Experts agree that young people in Australia are increasingly troubled by various forms of mental disorder, including Dr Lynelle Osburn, a lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. “Why is it a growing problem? One reason is an increasing intolerance of kids who are a bit different.” She says the vulnerable are easy to recognise. “Young people who leave home in an unplanned way, are isolated, are taking extreme risks or have substance abuse problems, who have eating or stress disorders. There is a growing number of young people who are on medications like amphetamines or Ritalin, or using various party drugs.” Another CSU academic Dr Janki Shankar, lecturer in mental health also in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, is on the Australian Association of Social Workers Mental Health Interest Group. She says “the current system is failing because of a lack of support services, particularly in rural areas. There are hardly any psycho-social rehabilitation programs that are targeted to youth, there’s almost nothing for people who need early intervention services.”

A leading group of veterinary educators has given their stamp of approval to Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) veterinary course, the first such course offered in regional Australia. The Veterinary Science Accreditation Advisory Committee which visited CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus last week has recommended accreditation for the University’s new Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree. The committee of six veterinary practitioners and academics from Australian and New Zealand universities will recommend to the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council that they provide provisional accreditation of CSU’s veterinary program. CSU’s first dedicated building for veterinary science, the $4.5 million Pre-Clinical Centre for teaching anatomy and physiology, was formally handed over to staff and students last week. Professor Kym Abbott, Director of Veterinary Science at CSU, said the accreditation committee praised the high quality of staff and facilities and the strong support given to the new program by the University.