A key Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher has been returned to the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GDRC) Southern Regional Panel for the next two years. Associate Professor of Food Science Chris Blanchard from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga is the Deputy Chair of the Panel. The CSU academic is one of 11 members appointed until 2015. The Regional Panels link the Corporation with growers, researchers, scientists, agribusiness and grower groups. Southern Regional Panel Chair, Mr Keith Pengilley, described the Panels as, “very important in ensuring grower concerns, ideas and priorities are fed into GRDC”. Associate Professor Blanchard is also a member of the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation - an alliance between CSU and NSW DPI.

Regional Victorians will receive a boost in access to higher education with a new degree in animal care and veterinary nursing to be investigated by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in partnership with Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE (GOTAFE) at Wangaratta in north east Victoria. On 24 July 2013 the Victorian Minister for Higher Education and Skills, The Hon. Peter Hall, launched a $1.3 million project that will fund the scoping and development of a new qualification, a Bachelor of Veterinary Technology, intended to be offered from 2015. The course will be offered to Year 12 school leavers, applicants who have not completed Year 12 and undertake qualifications with Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE, and veterinary nurses looking to upgrade their qualifications. Executive Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Science, Professor Tim Wess, said the project would involve a two stage process of scoping and then development in consultation with the veterinary industry to ensure graduates are highly skilled professionals that fill industry requirements. “This proposed new course builds on our established reputation in veterinary and animal sciences, further expands our course offerings, and enhances pathways for regional students” Professor Wess said.

Taking mathematics to the real world will be the aim of a day long competition for Year 11 students from four Border high schools in Corowa on Tuesday 13 August. More than 30 Year 11 students, teachers and supporters from Corowa, Rutherglen and Denniliquin High Schools will take part in the Corowa Maths Challenge which involves two teams of four students each taking part in maths activities that include Charles Sturt University (CSU) and three local organisations: Uncle Tobys, Corowa Shire Council and Corowa Whiskey and  Chocolate. Dr Colin Carmichael from CSU’s School of Education will also attend with student teachers to help run the day. “Activities like these are valuable for the school students as it helps them see the relevance of mathematics when it is used in the workplace and the community. Similarly, the CSU education students will benefit from seeing how maths education activities can be run outside the school environment,” Dr Carmichael said. The Corowa Maths Challenge will be held in the Corowa Whiskey and Chocolate from 9.30am to 2.30pm on 13 August.

An astronomer and Aboriginal researcher will highlight thousands of years of serious star gazing when he discusses the astronomical knowledge and traditions of Aboriginal Australians next week at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga. Dr Duane Hamacher from the University of NSW in Sydney will explore the relationship between astronomy and calendars, navigation, food economics and social structure in the lives of the first Australians. The free public lecture will be the first event in Albury as part of National Science Week for 2013, which is being coordinated by the Astronomical Society of Albury-Wodonga in conjunction with CSU. The event starts at 7pm on Tuesday 13 August in the CD Blake Lecture Theatre, CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is encouraging students to pack their bags to work, travel and study overseas as part of their university degree. Representatives of CSU Global, an initiative to help students to take up international study experiences, will meet with staff and students in Albury-Wodonga, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga over the next week. Manager of CSU Global Dr Shevahn Telfser said students can undertake international exchanges, short term study programs and practical placements. “In 2012 more than 340 Charles Sturt University students included an international experience as part of their degree and so far more than 250 students have travelled overseas this year,” she said. “This expands their horizons, builds contacts and gives them a competitive edge in the job market.” CSU aims to have 18 per cent or more than 700 undergraduate students undertake international study experiences by 2016.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) allied health and nursing students have undertaken an exercise to work together in a team on a complex health scenario through a new collaboration between CSU and Hume Medicare Local in Albury-Wodonga. Yesterday evening (Monday 12 August), final year occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry, speech pathology and nursing students on CSU campuses in Albury-Wodonga and Orange, worked to gain a better understanding of local health issues. Acting Course Director Dr Caroline Robinson with CSU’s School of Community Health said primary healthcare aims to prevent health problems such as obesity, rather than cure problems after they occur. “Students worked in multidisciplinary teams to collaborate with and learn from health professionals already working around Albury-Wodonga,” Dr Robinson said. “The exercise aimed to increase the employability of CSU graduates, by exposing them to ‘real life’ multidisciplinary practice that is becoming more common in regional Australia. It also introduces our students to the services provided by Hume Medicare Local and enables them to meet local health professionals who can tell students about possible career options in primary health care.”

An icon of Australian science will celebrate 100 years of scientific discovery in regional Australia at a public lecture on Thursday 15 August at the Albury Entertainment Centre. Writer, broadcaster and former federal science minister, Dr Barry Jones, will present a free public lecture as part of National Science Week to the residents of Albury-Wodonga. Dr Jones is the only person to be elected as a Fellow of Australia’s four Learned Societies representing science, engineering, humanities and social sciences. He served in state and federal parliaments from 1972 to 1998, while also serving as national president of the Australian Labor Party and representing Australia on various international committees in science and the economy. This lecture concludes National Science Week activities for 2013 planned by the Albury Wodonga Astronomical Society in collaboration with Charles Sturt University.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is looking to expand its relations with the isolated Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, particularly in research into environmental management. Director of the Council for Renewable Natural Resources Research in Bhutan, Dr Tashi Samdup, is visiting Albury and the University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society to discuss future collaboration with CSU staff. Dr Samdup will also discuss the progress of two Bhutanese PhD student researchers at CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Mr Kuenga Namgay and Mr Karma Tenzing. Senior ILWS researcher Dr Joanne Millar said Dr Samdup’s visit was important as it allowed discussions to further extend CSU’s research and teaching efforts in the mountain kingdom. “Although Bhutan is considered an environmental success story, the country still faces poverty and land degradation issues so our collaborative research will investigate the impact of environmental policies on local livelihoods,” Dr Millar said.

Staff and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange will plant native trees to increase environmental biodiversity next week as part of a CSU Green initiative for National Tree Planting Day. The event will see CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Orange and Wagga Wagga all take part in tree planting days. CSU Green Coordinator of Partnerships Nicola Smith said the event was designed to effect the campus ecosystems. “Our goals are to increase biodiversity by providing homes and food for wildlife, which brings more wildlife to the area, more ground cover, understorey and overstorey,” Ms Smith said. “We’ll also aim to reduce topsoil loss and erosion, increase soil infiltration, influence microclimate, and increase aesthetics for each campus.” Plants will come from local nurseries that specialise in native plants. Interested staff and students will determine where to planting the native trees on each campus. Miss Smith said students drew a sense of satisfaction from taking some ownership of their own campuses and would be thanked with a barbecue lunch. The tree planting events are set for Albury-Wodonga on Friday 16 and Sunday 18 August, Wagga Wagga on Sunday 18 August and Orange on Monday 19 August.