With entries closing this Friday 2 July, young people around NSW and the ACT are finding their creative streak as final entries to the 2010 Making a Difference (MaD) competition flow in to MaD headquarters at Charles Sturt University (CSU). This CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences Social Justice Innovation Award offers senior high school and TAFE students the platform to write about Making a Difference and it seems there are plenty of topics to choose from. “The task is to write an engaging story/poem/script that is creative and addresses an issue of Social Justice. It could be fictional or non-fiction. The four major winners each receive a $250 cash prize. In addition, Charles Sturt University also makes a donation of $250 to the charity of choice of the winners,” explains Dr Bill Anscombe. For more information, and to see the winners from 2009, visit www.csu.edu.au/student/mad/ .

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has joined Greater Southern Area Health Service (GSAHS) TAFE NSW Riverina Institute and Wagga Wagga City Council to cut costs through the efficient use of energy in their buildings. CSU is overseeing the training, which is being delivered by the Australian Institute of Air-conditioning, Refrigeration and Heating (AIRAH) after securing a competitive State Government grant of $27 970 to conduct energy efficiency training of its operations and building maintenance staff. “Charles Sturt University hopes the skilling of about 25 staff from the three organisations in energy efficiencies will provide them with greater confidence to make decisions that will ultimately lead to cost savings for their employers,” CSU Energy Manager Mr Edward Maher said. “It is conservatively estimated that energy efficiency improvements of three per cent can be achieved in building services in the organisations within two years of the completion of the training. This represents total carbon savings of 2 000 tonnes a year.” The funding from the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water is part of the government’s $20 million Energy Efficiency Training Program, established in 2009 to ensure NSW has a well-trained workforce to meet the demands of a green economy. Further information on the Energy Efficiency Training Program is available here.

The 2010 Central West RoboCup Junior Challenge robotics competition will see 153 students from 11 schools across the region build and operate mini robots at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Friday 25 June. The coordinator of the competition, Mr Allen Benter, a PhD student and researcher at the CSU Centre for Research in Complex Systems (CRiCS)  in Bathurst, said, “Charles Sturt University is now the official sponsor of the RoboCup Junior Challenge in the NSW central west following its strong support for the event in recent years. Staff at the University have provided technical advice to students and their teachers, have been judges at previous RoboCup events, and in February this year we held a training workshop on campus in Bathurst for students and teachers. It’s very exciting to now see this developing field so enthusiastically embraced by schools in the region.”

An award-winning website that helps learners recognise the finer points of living plants has helped win international recognition for a Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer in botany. Dr Geoff Burrows has been awarded the 2010 CE Bessey Award from the Botanical Society of America for his contributions to teaching botany to undergraduate university students, many of whom complete his subjects by distance education. Dr Burrows, who is also a researcher with the University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society, said it was gratifying to receive this recognition from an international society of botanists. “It shows that Charles Sturt University students are receiving a world-class introduction to their education in plant science,” Dr Burrows said. Read more about the website, Supermarket Botany here.

One of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) newest buildings is up for a national architecture award after it was recognised at the state level last week. The School of Dentistry and Health Sciences building at CSU in Wagga Wagga was named a winner at the Australian Institute of Architects' 2010 NSW Architecture Awards in Sydney on Friday 18 June. The two-storey structure by Brewster Hjorth Architects won the Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture. The building, which is home to the new Dental and Oral Health Clinic, will now go into the Institute’s national awards in October 2010. This is not the first award for the CSU building. In November 2009, builders Joss Construction were named a winner at the Master Builders Association Excellence in Construction Awards. The building, comprising of teaching, research and academic facilities including the clinic and a 20-place simulation laboratory, was officially opened in December 2009. Read more about the award-winning building at CSU in Wagga Wagga here.

A joint project between Charles Sturt University (CSU), TAFE NSW - Western Institute, TAFE NSW Riverina Institute, and the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education is set to make training easier for future early childhood educators who live in regional Australia. The Early Childhood Education Workforce Capacity Project (ECEWC) aims to build workforce capacity in early childhood education throughout inland and Indigenous areas in NSW and the Northern Territory. “The aim is to assist the aspirations and needs of regional communities, and individual practitioners in the Early Childhood Education field,” said project manager and CSU lecturer in the School of Teacher Education, Ms Alison Lord. “We can do this by providing an opportunity for students, both recent school leavers and mature age, a means to study at home supported by the provision of Mentors and Community Facilitators, without the need to relocate to another town or city, or leave employment in order to undertake university study,” Community Orientation Professional Development Days will be held over the next two weekends in Griffiths and Parkes giving the 42 students enrolled in the project the support they need to continue their studies.

The pathway for rural and regional students in north east Victoria to pursue higher education will expand with the signing of a new agreement between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE (GOTAFE). A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed by the two institutions in Shepparton on Monday 19 July. Under the new agreement, GOTAFE students completing a diploma or advanced diploma in agriculture; equine stud management or equine performance management; or nursing will receive guaranteed entry and/or credit into related degree programs offered by CSU. In addition the degree program will be delivered at GOTAFE in Wangaratta meaning regional students will be able to further their studies without the need to relocate from the area.

The challenging issue of the sexualisation of girls will the subject of discussion at a public lecture in Griffith on Wednesday 23 June. Lecturer in Philosophy and Ethics at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dr Emma Rush will give an overview of what researchers and experts have to say about the risks associated with the sexualisation of girls and explain the government’s response. Dr Rush will also identify resources for parents and professionals who work with girls. “As a society we must strive for the development of healthy and happy girls,” Dr Rush said. “Yet we are now seeing miniature celebrity fashion magazines, lip gloss and padded bras being sold for everyday use by girls from the age of eight. The increasing pressure on girls to meet very narrow appearance ideals at younger and younger ages is of significant concern to experts in child health and welfare.” The free lecture will be held from 6pm in the Burley Griffin Room, Griffith Regional Theatre in Neville Place, Griffith on Wednesday 23 June. CSU wine and cheese will be served after the lecture.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga and Wagga Wagga is this week playing host to Fijian students hoping to learn more about the discipline of pathology. Six students studying medical laboratory science at the University of South Pacific (UPS) in the Fijian capital of Suva will be in Albury and the Riverina from Monday 14 June until Friday 18 June. The visit is part of the CSU Global program,   the University’s initiative to promote international student experiences. “In 2009, I took a group of CSU Bachelor of Medical Science students to Fiji to tour the USP as well as pathology laboratories in Suva, Lautoka and Sigatoka,” Ms Helen Moriarty, lecturer with the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga said. “I hope this return visit to CSU by the Fijian students and one of their lecturers will lead to biannual student exchange. While in Albury-Wodonga, Cootamundra, Griffith, Temora and Wagga Wagga, the students will learn about our Bachelor of Medical Science program and our facilities as well as tour private pathology and hospital laboratories.”