Charles Sturt University (CSU) will increase the number of courses offered to Dongguk University students when a senior delegation from the South Korean university visits CSU in Albury-Wodonga. The delegation, led by the Head of School from the Computer Science Institute at Dongguk, will be in Albury on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 June to speak with 20 undergraduate Korean students currently undertaking business degrees in Albury and inspect the new buildings and facilities on the Thurgoona site. On Tuesday 15 June, the delegation including the Dean of the Computer Science Institute met with senior CSU staff to sign an agreement to allow Dongguk students to obtain recognition for units they study into a CSU Master of Business degree. CSU’s Head of the International School of Business and Partnerships in the Faculty of Business, Associate Professor John Atkinson, said this will encourage more South Korean students to study on CSU campuses, including Albury-Wodonga.

Acting Head of Charles Sturt University  (CSU) at Albury-Wodonga and Head of the Murray School of Education, Associate Professor Louise Hard, is showing the way to fellow staff and the wider Albury community by riding regularly to work at CSU’s Thurgoona site. Professor Hard, who lives in Thurgoona, decided to make a point of riding to work after trips to Europe where she noticed so many people riding everywhere. “In a world where we need to be increasingly responsible for our use of resources and find more sustainable ways to work and live, riding to work is one small contribution. Here in Albury we are very fortunate to have good access to many services, and living and working locally means I can begin to reduce my impact on our environment. I hope that this approach can be adopted by others so we can all continue to enjoy a healthy, sustainable lifestyle,” Professor Hard said.

Two Charles Sturt University (CSU) Faculty of Arts graduates are finalists in the 2010 Australia China Alumni Awards. At a reception in the Australian pavilion at Shanghai Expo on Tuesday 25 May, Ms Kara Jenkinson, a disaster preparedness delegate for the Australian Red Cross, was announced as a finalist in the Australian Education International Young Australian Alumni of the Year for the second year in a row, while Ms Anthea Webb, director of the United Nations World Food Program in China, was announced asa finalist for the Women in Leadership award. Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Anthony Cahalan said, “The fact we have two graduates listed as finalists in these internationally recognised awards is testament to the high quality degrees we offer at Charles Sturt University.” The winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Shanghai on Saturday 10 July.

The efforts of Charles Sturt University (CSU) to continually improve its environmental initiatives have been recognised in state-wide awards. Under the NSW Government’s Sustainability Advantage Recognition Scheme, CSU has been awarded a Bronze Partnership for its demonstrated commitment to business sustainability. In 2008, the University established CSU Green  to coordinate and monitor the organisation’s sustainability efforts. “Sustainability is a central theme of Charles Sturt University’s strategy and one of the four key themes of our Institutional Development Plan,” said CSU Green Manager Mr William Adlong. “This award gives us an indication we are on track with our environmental initiatives in biodiversity, energy, transport, waste and water.” Ahead of World Environment Day, Mr Adlong accepted the Bronze Partnership on Friday 4 June during a ceremony in Sydney. Read more about CSU Green here.

A passion to assess the impact of climate change on some of the world’s driest places has attracted Dr Antonio Castro from his native Spain to Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga for the past six months. A visiting research fellow with CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS), Dr Castro is assessing the possible impacts of global climate change on Spain, especially the dry south-eastern Andalusia region. He was drawn to Australia to investigate Associate Professor Gary Luck’s major project on assessing ecosystem services, those services provided by the natural environment that enhance the man-made environment, such as carbon storage, timber production, pest control, flower pollination and biodiversity conservation. He hopes to incorporate the skills and knowledge he has developed with Professor Luck into his own research. Dr Castro said he was impressed with the Institute, having never seen ecological, social and cultural views coming together in one institution. “Albury is also a very comfortable city and Australians are very friendly,” Dr Castro said.

Charles Student University (CSU) animal science students came face to face with the harsh reality of elephant cruelty and mistreatment during a visit to Thailand to undertake a project on wildlife conservation. The 18 day excursion in January centred on volunteer work at the Elephant Nature Park near Chang Mai in the country’s north. The park rescues maltreated, physically handicapped and mentally disturbed Asian elephants and provides a sanctuary for their rehabilitation. One agricultural science and 17 animal science students from CSU returned from the trip last week, recounting their cherished experiences being ‘up close and personal’ when feeding and washing the elephants. Course Coordinator of the CSU veterinary science program, Dr Gaye Krebs said the trip was an incredible learning experience and one student is planning to return to the park next year. “It was the impetus for one student to propose an Honours project with Lek, who runs the park, which is a fantastic outcome,” said Dr Krebs. “The trip went ahead with the assistance of CSU Global and the IGA supermarket at Hillston who donated $6 000 towards costs.”

The generosity of an Australian non-profit organisation has guaranteed four Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dentistry students receive more than $50,000 each towards their studies. At a recent scholarship and award function at CSU in Orange, the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) awarded four first-year students annual scholarships of $10,000 during their five years of study. Since 1962 the VFFF has distributed in excess of $70 million to non-profit organisations in Australia. The future of young people is of particular interest to the VFFF, as are the special needs of Australians living beyond the major metropolitan centres, particularly in rural and outback Australia. “With graduates from the School Dentistry and Health Sciences encouraged to practice in regional Australia, these scholarships are not only helping four students each year, they stand to benefit regional Australia as a whole,” said Head of School, Professor David Wilson.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) students who formed 18 teams to compete in 10 sports at the recent 2010 Eastern University Games at Coffs Harbour in NSW came fourth overall on points and won the Ann Mitchell Cup for points scored per capita of university enrolments. The CSU team manager, Mr Nik Granger, said, “This is a very good result from a great week of competition where all our students participated in the right spirit. The Charles Sturt University team comprised 180 students from all our campuses, as well as some distance education students. The competition was extremely good, and we had a few teams heading for gold medals. After dominating the pools, our highly-fancied Mixed Touch Football team took the silver medal when, in the final game, they contested a University of Wollongong side that contained a number of national representative players. The Ten Pin Bowlers were the surprise, finishing the competition with a silver medal, as did one of the Lawn Bowls teams. We can be very proud of this effort.”

Staff and Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga will celebrate NSW Bike Week this week with a series of activities including a ride to work and study on Wednesday 18 September. CSU bicycle riders will assemble in QEII Square in Albury for a leisurely social ride that will leave at 7.40 am and arrive at Gums Café in Thurgoona, with a free breakfast for all riders at 8.30 am. Not only will participants reduce the number of cars around the busy roads of Thurgoona, reduce their carbon footprints and improve their health and well-being, but they will also enter a draw to win a bike and helmet valued at $600. Participants will also be able to try a game of Bike Polo on Thurgoona football oval from 1 pm on Wednesday 18 September for 15 minute games played with teams of three riders. The CSU community will also be able to view a compilation of bike movies on Thursday 19 September between noon and 3 pm at the Gums Café, CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.