A Nobel laureate will speak about the expanding universe headlining activities at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga during National Science Week. Hosted by CSU and the Astronomical Society of Albury-Wodonga, the winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics, Dr Brian Schmidt, will give a public lecture starting at 7pm on Wednesday 18 August, CSU in Albury-Wodonga. The annual Science Fair, which will continue until Thursday 16 August, also includes a public lecture by CSIRO scientist Mr John Sarkissian, who will show the lost footage of the Apollo missions and Australia’s part in these historic events. Guest speakers, interactive workshops, exhibits, stargazing and other activities will be presented on each day of the three-day event to pupils from local and regional schools at the CSU campus.

Students from a Border high school are continuing to top groups in an online game for high school business students. Four teams from Wodonga Senior Secondary College are in the top three positions in three pools of the Game On competition being run by Charles Sturt University’s Faculty of Business. More than 560 regional high school students from high schools in Albury-Wodonga, central west NSW, Port Macquarie and the Riverina are pitting their business skills against each other in the virtual competition until Friday 7 September. Dr Abhishek Dwivedi, Lecturer in CSU’s School of Management and Marketing based in Albury-Wodonga, said, “The simulation is largely based on the Stage 6 Business Studies Syllabus in NSW. The Year 10 and 11 students at 29 regional schools are divided into 193 teams. In running their businesses, which are based on the automobile industry, they need to make decisions on human resources, marketing, operations and finance in each of the competition’s eight rounds.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be represented by five students from NSW and Victoria in a national crop competition in Temora in September. The 2012 Australian Universities Crops Competition (AUCC) is hosted by GrainGrowers from Tuesday 11 September to Friday 14 September. The annual event will see competitors tested in a number of categories on grains, pulses and oilseeds. The competition’s top three students will secure a study tour to the USA. Coaching the Bachelor of Agricultural Science students  is Dr Sergio Moroni, lecturer in crop agronomy from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences to secure the ‘University Teams' award for the third year in a row as well as aiming for places in the top five,” Dr Moroni said. CSU student Ms Georgina Rees said, “The crop competition is a great opportunity to use the knowledge we have gained over the past three years in our course and also learn more about the individual grain industries.”

A senior educator who recently won a prestigious Churchill Scholarship to investigate the world-class Finnish education system will address middle school teaching students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Tuesday 18 September. Ms Margaret Mulcahy, a Principal Education Officer with the NSW Department of Education and Communities, will address how parents and carers can assist in schooling, which complements her interests in learning and thinking by inquiry, curriculum integration, and student-centred learning. She is joined by a senior teacher educator from the University of Lapland in Finland, Dr Tuija Turunen, a research fellow with CSU’s School of Education, who will provide a comparison of how parents work with schools in Finland. She will also address how people become teachers in the Scandinavian country and why most school leavers prefer teaching over law or medicine. Visit coordinator and CSU education lecturer, Dr Liisa Uusimaki, said bringing the two educators from different parts of the world together to share their knowledge with CSU middle school teaching students demonstrates University’s commitment to advancing teacher education for the sake of Australian children.

Eminent academic and leading promoter of regional Australia, Professor Henry Nowik, will be recognised for his services to regional business when Charles Sturt University (CSU) names a major building on its Albury-Wodonga Campus in his honour. CSU Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Andrew Vann will be on hand to name the Nowik Learning Commons from 12noon on Thursday 13 September. The learning commons includes the library, extensive large and small meeting spaces, computer rooms and a kitchenette, most of which are open 24 hours a day, seven days per week to CSU students and staff. “Professor Nowik has a remarkable set of life experiences drawn from a long and rich life, well-lived. He has had a particular interest in the development of the Albury-Wodonga Campus to meet the needs of this growing regional hub, and Charles Sturt University honours Professor Nowik as a champion of regional development, a founding father of modern Wodonga, and as a visionary, philanthropist and benefactor,” Professor Vann said.

Students and staff from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will put their bike riding credentials on the line when they join thousands of fellow NSW commuters and ride to the University to celebrate NSW Bike Week on Tuesday 18 September. As part of the ride-to-work activities, supported by Albury City, the bicycle commuters will receive expert advice on maintaining and repairing their machines before and after their ride, which will leave at 7.45am from the old CSU Library car park in Guinea Street, Albury, and continue along the cycle path that follows the freeway to Thurgoona. Fellow riders are able to join the group along the way. The group is due to finish at the Gums Café, CSU in Albury-Wodonga, at 8.30am, where they will receive breakfast sponsored by CSU Green. Event coordinator across the University, Ms Nicola Smith, said the event, to also be held at other CSU campuses, aims to increase the knowledge of bike paths around CSU campuses, increase bike safety and get more CSU staff and students involved in local bicycle groups. “We want more Charles Sturt University people taking part in active transport and decreasing our carbon footprint,” Ms Smith said.

A senior Nepali forester will discuss his ideas on who owns the forests of Asia and the implications of this ownership when he visits Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga this week. Dr Ganga Dahal, who is the Asian facilitator for the Rights and Resources Initiative in Bangkok, Thailand, is visiting the University’s School of Environmental Sciences to meet with CSU staff and research students, as well as presenting a public seminar titled Who controls the forests? Exploring community forestry in Asia. Dr Dahal said control and ownership of local forests is at the core of community forestry as it seeks to enhance local livelihoods. “Community forestry is widely promoted throughout Asia, however local communities often have insecure tenure over their traditional forests,” said Dr Dahal, who will explore the current status and changes in forest tenure in Asia, and the implications for community forestry at this seminar. Visit coordinator at CSU, Dr Digby Race, believes international visitors are important for the research and teaching programs of institutions such as CSU. “Having visitors like Dr Dahal is vital for exchanging experiences and ideas. It helps connect our local knowledge to global issues, and for our solutions to be informed by international lessons,” Dr Race said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students are taking their interest in environmental sustainability to the next step through a training program to help them make a positive difference in the workplace. On Friday 21 September, 11 students, including two distance education students from Queensland, will take part in the Green Steps training program being held at CSU in Albury-Wodonga.  It’s part of a six day program during which students will learn how to conduct an environmental audit for waste, water, energy and carbon use.  Identifying incentives for organisational change and communication skills are also covered in the training. Ms Nicola Smith from CSU Green said, “Green Steps also offers students the opportunity to apply and develop these skills in a professional workplace through an internship program.” Green Steps at CSU is a partnership between CSU Green and the Monash Sustainability Institute.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has won the prestigious team award for the third year in a row at the Australian Universities Crops Competition. Held at Temora from Tuesday 11 to Friday 14 September, the competition saw students from five universities tested on everything from seed identification and grain grading to business management and production practices. CSU Bachelor of Agricultural Science student Ms Georgina Rees from Lara in Victoria placed second in the individual student category. She will now travel to the United States to compete in the crops competition at the Chicago Fair in November. Lecturer in crop agronomy from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Dr Sergio Moroni said, “The standard of competition was very high and being named as the top team for a third consecutive year is an outstanding achievement. It was pleasing to see the confident performance of the Charles Sturt University students during the event."