Archive
Health students assist Tour de Timor
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
A team of seven physiotherapy, nursing and paramedic students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) repeated last year’s medical assistance to mountain bike riders in the Tour de Timor race around Timor Leste. CSU physiotherapy lecturer Mr Tim Retchford led the students in their provision of medical support for the mountainous race. “Last year we treated up to 60 patients a day for everything from knee and back strains to dislocations, abrasions and fractures,” Mr Retchford said. “We dine with the competitors each morning, travel ahead of them to the finish to set up our mobile clinic, and help ‘patch them up’ at the end of the day so the riders can get back into the race the next day. Our students gain invaluable professional experience treating injured athletes as well as witnessing this amazing country and bicycle race. It is a fantastic experience.” The 410 kilometre Tour de Timor started in the capital Dili on Monday 13 September and finished back in Dili on Friday 17 September.Students explore ecotourism in Timor Leste
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
A two week visit to Timor Leste has brought together practice and theory in a unique cultural experience for eight students in the final year of their ecotourism degree at Charles Sturt University (CSU). The students, led by Dr Rik Thwaites from the School of Environmental Sciences at CSU in Albury-Wodonga, investigated the daily challenges faced by tourism planners, managers, operators and small Timorese communities in tourism enterprises. “Visiting a developing country and seeing the everyday activities undertaken by local people and how they lived their lives was an indescribable experience. The land, sea and local people are beautiful - so friendly, polite and welcoming,” said CSU ecotourism student, Mr Martin Hill. Fellow student, Ms Kimberley Kliska, said, “I connected with local people and learned about their culture while participating in fun and educative experiences such as traditional cooking classes and home-stays, as well as trekking and snorkelling in places of astounding beauty. We studied ecotourism through direct experience and learned how it’s applied to a developing country while having an unforgettable experience with beautiful people in an amazing place.”Travel scholarship leads to job for CSU student
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Having recently returned from a tour of the United Kingdom (UK) through the myOE Travel Scholarship program, Charles Sturt University (CSU) communication student Mr Angus Rutherford has begun his first job even before finishing his studies. “I think the trip to the UK was a great addition to my overall university experience,” Mr Rutherford said. “As part of the scholarship I made a video which showcases my skills in that area. I showed it to [employer] Coxinall Communications and now they have me doing some visual media work as part of my role.” Scholarships like myOE are giving CSU students the ability to discover the possibilities of working professionally overseas after graduating from university. “It was good to see how easily you could get set up in the UK if you wanted to work there,” Mr Rutherford said. For now, Mr Rutherford, from Wellington, NSW, is completing his studies and enjoying his second week of full-time employment in Australia.
CSU flea market in Machattie Park, Bathurst
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Twenty theatre/media students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will stage A Night In The Never Never, an outdoor flea market with music and performers, on the William Street side of Machattie Park in Bathurst on Friday evening 15 October. Event coordinator, Mr Tom Griffiths, said, “A Night In The Never Never is part of the SPRUNG Festival collection of final year theatre/media students’ major projects, and will bring together the cultures of the University and the local community in a unique atmosphere that combines elements of carnival and vaudeville in an elemental array of light and shadow, sound and silence, fire, circus and a little bit of magic. The stalls are a combination of local businesses, artists and community groups. There are some community art projects that the public can add to and these are facilitated by the students. The event aims to take the audience on a visual and auditory journey stimulated by a transformed local landmark with roving characters and performance, culminating in a loud and comedic show at the end of the night.”
Honouring the role of Teachers' College
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
The significant and historic role that the Wagga Wagga Teachers’ College played in the development of Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be honoured with a special naming ceremony in the city on Wednesday 22 September. A new student residential block at CSU will be named in honour of the College and the ongoing role played by the Wagga Wagga Teachers’ Alumni Association through the Charles Sturt Foundation. The student residence will be named ‘The WATAL’, an acronym for Wagga Alumni Teachers’ Association Lodge, by the University’s Chancellor, Mr Lawrie Willett, AO, at a ceremony from 2.30pm at building 381, near car park 19, CSU in Wagga Wagga. Ten representatives of the Wagga Wagga Teachers’ Alumni Association will be joined by members of the University’s governing body, the CSU Council. The Wagga Wagga Teachers’ College educated men and women from 1947 to 1972 when it was replaced by the Riverina College of Advanced Education.
Clever CSU croppers
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Charles Sturt University (CSU) reinforced its place as the leading agricultural university in Australia when 10 students from CSU won the University Teams Award in the second Australian University Crops competition recently held in Temora, NSW. Guided by Dr Sergio Moroni and PhD student Mr Jeff McCormick from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences in Wagga Wagga, competitors were tested on crop seed identification, business strategy, weed identification and soil analysis. Five CSU students were placed in the top 10 of 41 competitors from six universities. The top placed CSU student was Mr Andrew Gillet, who was second, while Mr Dwayne Schubert was fifth, Mr James Kanaley (sixth), Mr Victor Clifton (seventh), and Mr James Whitley (ninth).
Biodiversity Day - Sunday 17 October
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic Professor Cilla Kinross, the coordinator of Biodiversity Day, a free community event on Sunday 17 October, says, “Our role as educators plays a big part in why Charles Sturt University gets involved in community events like a Biodiversity Day”. Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, or on an entire planet, and 2010 was declared the International Year of Biodiversity. The Biodiversity Day will focus on the importance of biodiversity through a program of talks relating to biodiversity of the Central West, as well as fun events for the whole family. In the International Year of Biodiversity, CSU is conscious of its involvement in research and education within the local community and further afield to ensure more is understood about biodiversity. “The Biodiversity Day aims to give the general public a better understanding of our flora and fauna and its natural habitat.There will be events for the whole family throughout the day and prizes to be won,” Dr Kinross said. The Orange Biodiversity Day will take place at the Orange Botanic Gardens on Sunday 17 October. For bookings, timetable and further information, please contact Professor Cilla Kinross on ckinross@csu.edu.au or phone 6365 7651.
New program furthers careers
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003For those with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background who are interested in attending university, Charles Sturt University (CSU) has launched a new program which will make the university experience more attainable. CSU’s Indigenous Student Services has introduced a new skills assessment program called Darrambal. “Darrambal means ’footmarks’ or ’roadway’ and is used here to represent the lifelong journey of learning we all travel,” explains CSU’s Indigenous Student Services manager, Mr Ray Eldridge. “The program assesses each person’s skills, abilities and potential to succeed in their preferred course of study. Students who successfully the complete Darrambal program may be offered a place at Charles Sturt University to study their chosen course.” Any person who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may attend. “This is the perfect program for anyone who would like to study at university but are not sure if they satisfy the usual entry requirements.”
To Vanuatu with eyes wide open
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003Twelve students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will have the ultimate cultural experience in teaching when they land in the Pacific Island country of Vanuatu for three weeks of teaching practice in three schools around the nation’s capital, Port Vila. The students, in their third year of the early childhood / primary school education degree based on the Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst and Dubbo campuses, will teach for one week in each of Peter Pan School, Port Vila International School and The Central School, starting Saturday 16 October. The program coordinator Ms Sharon Milsome, said immersing the students in the culture gave them a better understanding of how other cultures teach and learn. “Students can try different teaching strategies and hopefully learn from the teachers they are placed with in a variety of classrooms. The students have prepared a variety of lesson plans and ideas to implement while they are there, and will share ideas among their peers. They might even have some fun!” The students return to Australia on Saturday 6 November.
Stuttering not a sentence
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003Do you stutter, or know of someone who does? You may be interested in learning more about a treatment program soon being offered locally. Speech pathology academics at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are keen to hear from interested adults who stutter. Stuttering program coordinator Ms Lisa Brown said one percent of Australian adults stutter, and “we have developed strategies and techniques to reduce the impact of stuttering”. Ms Brown would like to hear from adults around Albury-Wodonga who want to take part in an intensive one-week treatment program to be conducted in early November by final year speech pathology students. Ms Brown, who is an experienced speech pathologist and is now completing her doctoral research on stuttering, will supervise the students. The program will start on Monday 1 November on CSU’s Thurgoona site.