A group of five teaching students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Australia will spend the next four months studying at the CSU campus in Ontario, Canada. The students from Bathurst, Albury and Dubbo are studying the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) through the Faculty of Education. Dubbo-based student, Mr Pete Minney, seized the opportunity to study abroad. “I can broaden my experience by observing first-hand the strategies teachers from another country use and whether the children benefit from a different approach to education,” he said. The exchange has been supported by CSU Global, a University initiative which aims to increase the number of students undertaking international experiences as part of their studies.

With the Australian carbon tax on the horizon, Charles Sturt University (CSU) will provide an international perspective on how businesses can effectively account for their energy costs with a presentation on Wednesday 3 August. Professor Ulrich Nissen, from the University of Applied Science in Germany, will give a presentation on accounting for energy costs. Event organiser Dr Dianne McGrath with CSU’s School of Accounting and Institute for Land, Water and Society said Australian companies acknowledge they need to account for current and future energy costs. “This is where accounting professionals can assist. Business managers and accountants will need to develop skills and qualifications in energy cost management for now and especially the future, issues Professor Nissen has recently addressed by modifying university teaching in accounting in Germany,” Dr McGrath said. Professor Nissen’s presentation will commence at 9am until 11am on Wednesday 3 August via video conference in the Business Faculty building, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

Health students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) are joining tens of thousands of Australians to urge State and Federal governments to end the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health crisis, and provide health equality for Indigenous Australians. The University’s Multidisciplinary Albury Rural Health Society (MARHS) is supporting the national Close the Gap campaign by hosting a ceremony on Saturday 30 July to raise community awareness. MARHS Co-President and CSU allied health student Ms Sian Draffin is alarmed at the 17-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. “As future health professionals, we students are passionate about health equality for all Australians and see this as a social justice issue that we should all do something about,” said Ms Draffin . “Guests at our event will be able to join over 140 000 Australians to sign the official Close the Gap pledge that urges action from all Australian governments.” Students from CSU and other university rural health clubs throughout Australia will be attend the Close the Gap ceremony, which is also open to the public. The MARHS ceremony will start at 1.30pm on Saturday 30 July in the CD Blake lecture theatre at CSU in Albury Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

The Importance of Irrigated Agriculture to Global Food Security is the title of a free seminar in Wagga Wagga by world-leading research agronomist, Professor Kenneth G Cassman. The public lecture will be held from 8.30am on Wednesday 27 July at the NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute. Professor Cassman is being brought to Wagga Wagga by the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (AIAST) in association with the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation – an alliance of Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the NSW DPI. Strategic Research Professor at CSU, Len Wade said, “Professor Cassman is a leading agronomist from the USA, a strong advocate of, and very influential in, the field of crop agronomy research. He has published widely and is eminently qualified to discuss the vital challenge facing the world, global food security.”  As a Professor of Agronomy at the University of Nebraska, Professor Cassman is also the chairman of the standing panel of international scientific experts known as the Independent Science and Partnership Council of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research.  

Research into how native fish move through river systems, specifically factors that affect how fish larvae swim, is underway at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga. CSU fish ecologist, Dr Paul Humphries, is working with Associate Professor Hubert Keckeis, from the University of Vienna in Austria, to discover how native fish survive in Australian rivers. “As rivers in the Murray Darling Basin come under greater pressure due to drought, climate change and diminishing water resources, we need to learn more about how native freshwater fish such as the iconic Murray Cod survive and what we can do to help them,” Dr Humphries said. “This has major implications for the health of rivers in the Basin and the recreational fishing carried out in them.” This week is National Native Fish Week. Professor Keckeis is visiting CSU to learn techniques developed in Australia for use in the rehabilitation of the giant Danube River that runs across southern Europe, including his native Austria.

The results of a collaborative project that includes speech pathology students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be on show this week for schools around Albury and Australia. During the year, second and fourth year students have provided innovative programs aimed at improving children’s communication skills in public schools across the southern Riverina region, including Albury. As part of the School Project, students have developed resources and lesson plans for teachers so they can continue to help their students develop skills in listening, literacy, public speaking and interviewing. A website making some of these available for use by teachers around Australia and overseas will be launched during the showcase. The “Schools Showcase Event”, which highlights some of this year’s best student projects, will be held between 5pm and 6pm on Thursday 28 October at the Nowik Theatres, Guinea St, Albury, as part of the final year Student Speech Pathology Conference. Student teams will display their projects for teachers, education department staff, and interested professionals over wine and cheese.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is addressing the critical need for professionals in regional Australia, such as accountants and nurses, with a program that encourages TAFE diploma students to enrol in CSU degrees. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers said CSU will guarantee entry into most of its undergraduate courses to people who have completed diplomas and advanced diplomas from any TAFE institution in Australia. “In addition, TAFE students who have also completed a Tertiary Preparation Certificate (TPC) and gained  a Tertiary Entrance Score of 157 or over are also eligible for guaranteed entry into Charles Sturt University undergraduate courses,” Professor Chambers said. This program is in addition to the existing scholarship program between CSU and a number of regional and metropolitan TAFE institutions across NSW and Victoria. “Charles Sturt University is committed to supporting the aspirations of TAFE graduates.  It provides pathways to its professional degrees from TAFE diplomas and advanced diplomas based on substantial credit for prior learning,” Professor Chambers said.  

A leading Australian academic in the field of occupational science and therapy will show how the profession has changed since the 1970s as well as look to the future for occupational therapists (OTs). During a student conference hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga on Wednesday 27 October,  Dr Alison Wicks will deliver her keynote address titled ‘Imagining your futures’. She will explore the potential for OTs to effectively address critical health and lifestyle issues in the 21st century by adopting their unique occupational perspective.  Dr Wicks, who was the first doctoral graduate in CSU’s occupational therapy, will also be addressing her daughter, Sheridan, who is among the 40 students to graduate from the CSU occupational therapy degree next year. Ms Sheridan Wicks is also presenting at the 2010 Occupational Therapy Student Conference in Albury.

The real impact of cyber-bullying on children, schools and the wider community will be explored during a free public forum hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Wagga Wagga City Council on Wednesday 26 October. In the second Edversations Professional Forum for 2010, a panel of three educators will speak on the topic Cyber-bullying … the real impact! before the public forum is open for comments and questions. The panel members include Ms Jacquie Tinkler, a lecturer from the School of Education at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Senior Constable Rebecca Lanyon from NSW Police, and Mr Trevor Howard, Head of Maths and IT at The Riverina Anglican College. The panel will discuss preventing and responding to cyber-bullying and strategies for dealing with this behaviour in the virtual world. The forum will be held from 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday 26 October in the council meeting room, Civic Centre, Baylis Street in Wagga Wagga.