A national conference for Australian pharmacy students will be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga in 2012. Members of the University’s student club, Pharmers' Society  won a competitive bid to host the National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association or NAPSA Congress in January 2012. “Our successful bid to host this national event is sweetened by the fact this is the first time the annual NAPSA conference will be held in a regional centre,” fourth year CSU pharmacy student Mr Sean Dodd said. “We are very proud that the event will be held in inland Australia. It is a vote of confidence in those of us that choose to live, study and ultimately pursue our chosen profession in regional Australia to improve health services,” pharmacy student Ms Amy Minett said. “The work has now begun to stage a relevant and cutting edge conference in Wagga Wagga for more than 200 students from 13 universities,” Mr Dodd said. Head of CSU’s School of Biomedical Sciences Associate Professor Lyndall Angel said, “Again the pharmacy students at Charles Sturt University have shone and shown their maturity and dedication to serve rural and regional Australia”. Read more about the NAPSA Congress Wagga Wagga 2012  here.

The expenses of attending university have been demystified in a new booklet published by Charles Sturt University (CSU), giving students the power of understanding when it comes to their study options. CSU’s Student Equity and diversity officer, Ms Carissa Perkins is excited to launch the publication. “The Making University Affordable booklet was developed by Charles Sturt University to instil a sense of empowerment, arming students with the knowledge they need to plan and succeed at university,” Ms Perkins said. “Making University Affordable addresses the costs to consider when thinking about further study and how to plan for them, and demonstrates how attending university increases future job prospects and earning capacity. The booklet helps, no matter what life stage students are in. Whether they are a school leaver, wanting a change of career, are returning to work or looking at increasing their skills, this booklet aims to inform those who presently feel future study is beyond their means by showing them practical and achievable ways they can make it happen.”

Thousands of native trees and shrubs will be planted on Charles Sturt University (CSU) campuses as its staff and students help mark National Tree Day. CSU Green, in collaboration with the Slopes to Summit partnership, has organised for around 1 000 native trees, shrubs and grasses to be planted on the University’s Thurgoona site on Friday morning 29 July by nearly 50 students and staff from nearby Trinity College. CSU has set targets of using 10 per cent of University land to increase biodiversity by 2011, and 20 per cent by 2015. CSU Green communication and education officer, Ms Nicole Maher said it is a practical way for people to make a difference to the local environment. “It’s really satisfying to walk past the site in the months and years that follow, and watch the plants you put in growing into a beautiful natural area,” she said. “By getting involved in something like this, people get a far greater appreciation for the incredible native flora and fauna that we have right here on our campuses.”

The solitude of US servicemen serving in the Aleutian Islands off the Alaskan and Russian coasts are seen in 24 arresting images of war depicting the Kiska battlefield through the lens of US master craftsman and artist Mr Sam Maloof. These have also been re-visited by contemporary artist and Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic Associate Professor Dirk Spennemann in 24 corresponding photographs. The exhibition, titled Solitude Recaptured opened on 23 July at March Field Air Museum at Riverside, California, USA. “While Sam Maloof is well known as a master craftsman of fine mid-century furniture, this exhibition shows he already had an ‘artist’s eye’ when he was a young soldier,” Professor Spennemann said. “It was a great opportunity to ‘re-vision’ Kiska 60 years later and to exhibit alongside Maloof’s images”. This travelling exhibit was developed by the US National Park Service Alaska Regional Office, The Aleutian WW II National Historic Area and CSU. The exhibit runs until Saturday 3 December.

If you are over 65 and you have had a fall in that past 12 months, or are a relative or friend of someone who has, you can take part in research at Charles Sturt University (CSU) that looks at your experiences related to the fall. Ms Kristy Robson, a podiatry academic with the CSU’s School of Community Health  and Centre for Inland Health is looking for participants specifically from Albury, Corowa, Wagga Wagga, Griffith, Coleambally, Boorowa, Young and Moama as part of her PhD research project. Ms Robson, who is based in Albury, said it is estimated that between 30 and 60 per cent of older people living in the community will experience a fall each year. “It is therefore important we try and understand why this is occurring, particularly for people living in inland communities of Australia. Most current research is based on the opinions of health experts. We want to collect stories from diverse inland communities which have widely spread people and health services. Programs developed for metropolitan situations might not be appropriate for our regional communities.” To participate in the CSU research project, contact Ms Wendy Rose Davison on telephone (02) 6051 9232.

Scientists and administrators from India are visiting the Border this week to investigate how Australia is managing the often conflicting uses for limited water resources. Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Institute for Land, Water and Society is hosting the 14 person group, from Loktak in Manipur state and Chilika, Bhubaneswar, for their three-day visit to CSU in Albury-Wodonga and its surrounding natural and artificial wetlands. ILWS director, Professor Max Finlayson, said, “Indian wetland managers face competing interests for water resources, such as hydro-electricity, irrigation, domestic supply, and the environment, which we are also addressing in the Murray Darling Basin. This is a great opportunity for both countries to learn how we can more effectively manage our water resources for all our users.”

Former and current police officers and school teachers are sought to participate in Charles Sturt University (CSU) research about decision-making in their careers. The study by Ms Loene Howes, a psychology student and a teacher for 14 years, will focus on the career decision-making of police officers and teachers who stay in these professions or enter new careers. “In particular, I need former school teachers and police officers who have gone into other fields, as well as current police officers and school teachers, to complete an anonymous online survey,” said Ms Howes. "The survey usually takes 10 to 30 minutes to complete, depending on how many questions are relevant to the experience of the individual completing the survey. I hope my research will be of use to police officers and teachers considering career change, counsellors assisting police officers and teachers with career transitions, and police and education departments in addressing the needs of staff and keeping experienced staff in the professions.” The survey can be found here. 

An educational program designed to assist local communities in dealing with confronting issues for young people will be presented at a public event on 10 August at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga. The Putting Youth in the Picture program, which is being rolled out across CSU’s regions after it secured the first NSW licence, “is about empowering local communities through their local councils, school or sporting groups to use the program’s resources to hopefully prevent their young people from getting into difficulties,” said Manager of Residential Operations at CSU, Mr Peter Bell. “Using confronting, authentic scenarios, the program shows the consequences of certain behaviour, without moralising. No issue is regarded as too tough to tackle: sexual assault, binge and underage drinking, and alcohol-fuelled violence are all addressed in the program.” The free program will be presented to school students and their parents and teachers by two senior residential advisers from the University’s Thurgoona student residences, Mr Douglas Canning and Ms Emily Green. The Putting Youth in the Picture program will be held in CSU’s Blake Lecture Theatre, located off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona, starting with refreshments at 6pm before the program commences at 6.30pm.

2005 Australian of the Year, leading medical researcher and renowned plastic surgeon Dr Fiona Wood will headline events being held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga as part of the 2011 National Science Week. A hero of the first Bali bombing, helping 28 burns victims survive their wounds using groundbreaking ‘spray on skin’ technology, Dr Wood will present a public lecture on The quest for scarless healing to highlight the role of science in modern Australia. Two free lectures will be presented on Tuesday 16 August in the CD Blake Lecture Theatre on CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona; the first especially for school children, commencing at 10.30am, and an evening event starting at 6.30pm. Visitors can also view a number of other science activities between Tuesday 16 and Thursday 18 August, being hosted or assisted by CSU student and teachers with the Murray School of Education, as well as activities presented by the Astronomical Society of Albury Wodonga.