Archive
CSU forging ties with Australian Defence Force
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) was well-represented at Charles Sturt University (CSU) during a high-level visit to the Wagga Wagga campus on Friday 25 September. Hosted by the Head of Campus, Mr Adrian Lindner, senior officers of the Army, Navy, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Defence Reserves met with Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Professor Lyn Gorman, and academic staff from the arts, business, education and science faculties. They inspected the campus, including the new dentistry and oral health facilities, the Veterinary Clinical Centre, and the University’s television studios. “The visit by the senior officers is part of one of my priorities to further develop the relationship between Charles Sturt University and the ADF to ensure the sustainability of both organisations as well as our regional communities,” said Mr Lindner. “We are educating the professions of the future and that includes meeting the needs of the ADF. Additionally, Charles Sturt University is always searching for skilled staff such as may be found in defence force families.”
International learning from others
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
As three years of study at Charles Sturt University (CSU) draws to a close, a group of agricultural science students from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU at Wagga Wagga are reflecting on the international value of their course. Twenty-one Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) students travelled to southern Vietnam for a fortnight earlier this year. The group attended lectures at Can Tho University in the Mekong Delta region on fruit and pig production, as well as training and extension to local farmers. The students travelled into the field to look first-hand at farming systems on the Mekong Delta, and to observe the fishing industry and its sustainability challenges. They visited a range of dairy producers and looked at the extension program for small dairy producers, operated by the Dutch Lady Vietnam Milk Company. “I was surprised to learn that during the wet season from May to December, the Mekong River flows at 40 mega litres per second, flooding the delta region,” said Bachelor of Science (Agriculture) student, Mr David Gale. “However, during the dry season, the Mekong flows drop dramatically and salinity becomes a problem because salt water from the ocean comes back upstream. The visit to the Mekong Delta region was invaluable in exposing me to a different way of farming, but at the same time it showed me that similar problems, such as salinity and nutrient deficiencies, exist in both Australia and Vietnam.” The trip has prompted the CSU student to consider an Honours research project in an area related to farming systems in southern Vietnam.
CSU Orange grabs the reins
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Horse lovers are champing at the bit to attend the next school holiday Equine School at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Orange after positive feedback about the previous event. The organiser of the Equine School, Ms Cheryl Gander, from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences says, “The School caters for all age groups and experience levels. Admissions are open until Wednesday 7 October for the Spring Equine School, which will be held from Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 October.” Participant Ms Rebecca Cady said, “Not only did I receive expert riding instruction which highlighted some riding problems I needed to correct to get my horse working better, I also learnt a lot about my horse's health and nutrition. The School included riding tuition of up to four hours per day in two sessions as well as classroom lessons and practical ground lessons like float loading, working with a young horse, and lunging. Everyone at the camp was so helpful and I made many new friends in those four days.”
CSU team at 2009 Uni Games on Gold Coast
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
When the Australian University Games began on the Gold Coast on Monday 28 September, Mr Charles Croucher, a Charles Sturt University (CSU) journalism student at the School of Communication at Bathurst, had the important role of Master of Ceremonies at the opening ceremony held at Sea World. CSU is represented by a team of 140 students from its campuses at Albury-Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Bathurst and Orange. They are competing in athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, fencing, handball, hockey, lawn bowls, rugby union 7s, netball, touch football, ultimate frisbee, volleyball and water polo. Manager of the CSU team and student support officer at CSU at Orange, Mr Nik Granger, said, “We anticipate strong performances from the women’s basketball, women’s hockey, rugby union 7s and men’s water polo. Two of our recently enrolled international students will be competing in handball and water polo.” Go, CSU, go!
Defying the elements to bring about change
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
There will be a rare opportunity to hear first-hand of the success of one man’s dedication to renewing the drought ravaged rural landscapes of Australia when grazier, horse-breeder, author and founder of Natural Sequence Farming (NSF), Mr Peter Andrews, addresses a public forum in Wagga Wagga from 6pm on Tuesday 29 September. During the event, co-hosted by the International Centre of Water for Food Security (IC WATER) at Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Wagga Wagga City Council, Mr Andrews will outline the workings of his Natural Sequence Farming. Read more here.
New rain water tank boosts CSU sustainability
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
As part of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) commitment to enhancing and ensuring its future environmental sustainability, a new 22 700 litre tank has been installed at the Transport Office at the Bathurst Campus to harvest rainwater to clean the University’s fleet of vehicles. The tank and related equipment were purchased with a $5 000 grant funded under the CSU Sustainability Grants program. The manager of CSU Green, Mr William Adlong, said, “The Bathurst Campus rainwater tank is the first project to be completed under CSU’s new Sustainability Grants, which are available for different projects across CSU’s campuses. The water tank will enable the University to keep vehicles presentable even if local water restrictions are imposed. Also, we hope that the tank will be a visual reminder to staff and students of the range of actions they might consider to help us conserve water and energy and reduce our ecological footprint”.
Science demonstrations for small schools
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003The collaboration between Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Orange and local small schools has produced a successful series of science demonstrations over the past year. The latest school to benefit from the academic knowledge at CSU was Cumnock Public School, with 18 students in Years 4, 5 and 6 visiting the Orange Campus last week for a three-hour demonstration titled ‘Introduction to Micro-organisms’. “The Charles Sturt University academics offer a great hands-on and expert component that isn't always easy to achieve in schools,” said Cumnock Public School teacher Alison Croker.“It was a great experience and one we're very keen to do again.” CSU School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences academics Mr Peter Mills, Dr Yann Guisard, Dr Scott Andrew and Mr Peter Anderson gave the students an understanding of fungi, viruses and bacteria with practical experiments.
CSU helps bring science to the bush
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer Mr Peter Mills is excited about the coming annual Australian National Field Days (ANFD) at Borenore near Orange NSW. He is taking part in the delivery of Science in the Bush at the ANFD high school day on Tuesday 20 October where exciting exhibits, hands-on workshops and engaging talks about what is happening in science today and beyond will be on show. As the outreach partner of this Australian Government initiative, CSU will deliver a workshop titled Super Botany. Based on the highly successful Science in the City at the Australian Museum, Science in the Bush enables local scientists and educators to bring the excitement and discovery of science to school children in rural NSW. Science in the Bush at ANFD is part of the Science in the City Project run by the Australian Museum with Executive Partner the University of Sydney and Outreach Partner CSU.
E-learning in the workplace
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
A new online journal edited by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic aims to provide an outlet for research into the rapidly growing field of e-learning in organisations and the workplace. Impact: Journal of Applied Research in Workplace E-learning is founded and edited by Mr Mark Lee, an adjunct senior lecturer with CSU’s School of Education. The online journal will focus on articles relating to the design, implementation, evaluation and management of workplace e-learning across a range of sectors and industries. “The paucity of avenues to publish research and a desire to promote dialogue and collaboration between the various disciplines with an interest in this field, such as business management, human resources, adult/vocational education and IT, led to the establishment of the journal,” said Mr Lee. “Up until now there have been very few vehicles in the workplace e-learning arena that have been successful in both promoting the use of academic research to guide and inform practice, and encouraging input from practitioners to help shape and drive the future research agenda.”
Paramedic research workshop
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Paramedics from around NSW and interested academics will attend a workshop at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Wednesday 7 October to foster research in the management and operation of ambulance services. Associate Professor Peter O’Meara, the Associate Head of the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences at Bathurst, said, “CSU is hosting the Pre-hospital Research Workshop with the aim to enhance research opportunities that might lead to improved service delivery and outcomes. This is an expanding field with much potential for practical action research”. Workshop participants will explore the formulation of research questions and hear research presentations about qualitative and quantitative research from Professor O’Meara and from two prominent visiting academics; Professor Malcolm Woollard, the Visiting Professor of Pre-hospital from Coventry University in the United Kingdom, and Mr Lawrence Brown, from the United States, a Research Fellow at James Cook University in Queensland.