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Wellness and Wellbeing Expos at CSU

More than two and a half thousand people are expected to attend Charles Sturt University's (CSU) 2017 Wellness and Wellbeing Expos this month.

The Expos are being held at CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange, Port Macquarie and Wagga Wagga from Tuesday 14 to 30 March.

Organisers' Ms Lisa Tuineau and Ms Melissa Lombe said that through happier, healthier and more satisfied staff and students, the University hopes to foster a productive and resilient environment.

"Charles Sturt University recognises and values the importance of staff and student wellness and wellbeing and aims to adopt a holistic approach to the treatment of workplace health and safety," Ms Tuineau said.

"Workplace research shows that problems of a personal nature can and do have adverse effects on work performance, work satisfaction, study, health and feelings of wellbeing."

The Expos will give attendees the opportunity to obtain information on numerous health and wellbeing services offered to them by CSU as well as other service providers in local communities.

Information available at the Expos includes mental health; diabetes; physical activity; financial stability; security; literacy and superannuation; student services and support; student study skills support; stress management and prevention; caring for the elderly; alcohol and drug awareness; relationships; time management and lifestyle balance; nutrition and fitness; women's and men's health and smoking cessation.

The event also includes hearing checks, free massages and flu vaccinations.

The health and wellbeing of staff and students at CSU has received a boost with sponsorship from Gallagher, Employers Mutual, G&C Mutual Bank, UniSuper and nlc.

CSU public lecture film screening tells refugee story

A special free film screening will be the first 2017 Explorations Series public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Wednesday 29 March.

The screening of Constance on the Edge, about a group of African Australians from refugee backgrounds, has been organised by the CSU Centre for Law and Justice in collaboration with the Bathurst Refugee Support Group.

Centre Director Associate Professor Alison Gerard said, "Constance on the Edge is an unflinchingly honest portrayal of a group of African Australians from refugee backgrounds, attempting ─ often against the odds ─ to create a home in Wagga Wagga. It reveals their courage and resilience, as they strive to reconstruct their own lives and enrich others along the way.

"We don't often hear the stories of those who arrive on our borders seeking freedom from persecution and their challenges navigating a new life in Australia. This film is a humanised account of these struggles and the Centre for Law and Justice is proud to partner with the Bathurst Refugee Support Group to present this to the University and wider community.

"Within the Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Criminal Justice degrees, Charles Sturt University builds the technical expertise of students in law and criminology, but also showcases, through examples such as Constance on the Edge, the human impact of law and policy. We produce graduates that are adept at understanding different complexities so they may innovate and problem-solve effectively, leading change within their communities."

Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst Associate Professor Chika Anyanwu said, "Constance on the Edge was produced in Wagga Wagga, and it is our story. We are all Constance. We are all struggling every day, trying to balance our past with our present, trying to meet our family obligations, trying to meet our societal obligations, and trying to make contributions to our society, and hoping to be welcome within our communities."

The screening begins at 6.30pm and will be followed by a 'Question and Answer' panel, then light refreshments. More information about the film can be found here.

First writer-in-residence for 2017

A new writer-in-residence at the Booranga Writers' Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will present two events in March.

The Centre's Creative Director Ms Kathryn Halliwell said Melbourne author Mr Rajith Savanadasa (pictured) will present a public reading on Thursday 23 March, and a writing workshop on Saturday 25 March.

"It is with great pleasure that Booranga Writers' Centre welcomes Rajith Savanadasa as our first writer-in-residence for 2017," Ms Halliwell said. "We feel privileged to have such a talented young writer sharing his work with us through the upcoming author reading, and Booranga writing workshop.

"I encourage all in the region who are interested in writing and literature to attend his public reading and the writing workshop."

Mr Savanadasa was born in Sri Lanka and now lives in Melbourne. He runs Open City Stories, an oral history project documenting the lives of a group of asylum seekers in Melbourne and is working on the next phase of it. He is currently working on a follow-up to his debut novel Ruins which has recently been longlisted for the Australian Literary Society 2017 Gold Medal award. Mr Savanadasa was shortlisted for the Asia-Europe Foundation short story prize in 2013, the Fish Publishing short story prize in 2013, received a Wheeler Centre Hotdesk Fellowship in 2014, and was part of the QWC/Hachette Manuscript Development Program in 2014.The March events will be held:

Thursday 23 March, 5pm to 7pm

Public reading at the Museum of the Riverina at the Historic Council Chambers, corner of Morrow and Baylis Streets, Wagga Wagga. All are welcome to this free event, with refreshments provided.

Saturday 25 March, 2pm to 4pm

Writing workshop at the Booranga Writers' Centre, Mambarra Drive at CSU in Wagga Wagga. All are welcome. The workshop is free to members of Wagga Wagga Writers' Writers Inc. and $5 for non-members.

Community placements for CSU criminal justice students to shine

Workplace learning in communities is a vital part of professional education in Charles Sturt University's (CSU) undergraduate courses, including the criminal justice degree at CSU in Bathurst.

"It is vital that students receive this experience to hit the ground running when they receive their degrees. We want them to put their knowledge into practice. This continues the University's status as having the highest graduate employment rate in Australia," said lecturer Lisa Coates with CSU's Centre for Law and Justice.

"For example, one of our students, who graduated last year from the , helped prepare for and attended an entire criminal trial as part of her placement with Ireland Killen Lawyers in Bathurst. This experience is invaluable on a resume."

In 2016, 71 students were placed in 66 locations around NSW and the ACT with 32 different organisations, ranging from NSW Community Corrections and Juvenile Justice to Barnardos Australia. In 2016, CSU was also the first Australian university outside of ANU and University of Canberra to place students with ACT Legal Aid and Aboriginal Legal Aid (ACT).

In addition, this year the ACT Law Courts in Canberra will offer a student placement to CSU, the first-ever placement in criminology offered by the Court and the first to a non-ACT university.

To assist such a dispersed student group during their placements, Ms Coates has developed a Workplace Learning Resource website, which will serve CSU students from Bathurst and Port Macquarie  as well as those studying through CSU online around Australia.

"With students placed as far as Taree, Lake Macquarie and Griffith across regional NSW to inner-city Sydney, this website is an interactive resource for students to prepare, inform and support them during their placements.  It will also assist them in transitioning into graduate working life," Ms Coates concluded.The new resource website will be launched with final year criminal justice studies students at 1pm on Monday 13 March at CSU in Bathurst.

Workshop to address agribusiness opportunities around Canberra

Agribusiness firms in the Capital Region that want to make the most of Australia's free trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Japan and Korea can gain more information in a Charles Sturt University (CSU) education program.

The program including a workshop being hosted by CSU's Centre for Customs and Excise Studiesconcentrates on market opportunities, provides technical training on the regulatory requirements to enter each market, and provides advice on how to best to manage supply chains, so that producers retain maximum value in their businesses.

The workshop, being led by CSU senior lecturer Mr Brent Juratowitch, will be held from 9am to 4 pm on Wednesday 15 March at CSU in Canberra, 10-12 Brisbane Ave, Canberra. He will be accompanied by presenters from the private sector with relevant experience in claiming FTA market benefits.

Mr Juratowitch said topics covered include market selection, market trends, product classification, tariffs and duties, valuation, regulations, supply chain management, and how to participate in Authorised Economic Operator schemes.

"The workshop is part of a six-week program that also includes online business forums, mentoring and tailored advice," he said.

"Once enrolled, a participant can access an online platform containing FTA fact sheets, business guides and other materials. They can then review this material in their own time and can contact presenters with specific questions relating to their business."

Participants can enroll online in the FTA program.

New poetry book launched in Wagga Wagga

A new book of poetry by a Charles Sturt University (CSU) PhD graduate and former director of CSU's Booranga Writers' Centre was launched at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery on Saturday 4 March.

The Only White Landscape, the second collection of poetry by Dr Derek Motion (second from right in photo), has been published by Australian poetry imprint Cordite Books (2017). It presents a series of poems that use the specific landscapes of regional NSW as a lens to investigate personal change.

"I'm really excited to see this book out in the world," says Derek Motion. "It's my second collection and it's particularly great this time to have been supported by Cordite Books, one of Australia's most reputable publishers of contemporary poetry."

The Only White Landscape was officially launched by Mr David Gilbey, poet and adjunct senior lecturer in English in the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

"Like the shaman-poet of ancient times, Derek Motion creates something out of nothing, using words to mediate between chaos and existence, speaking an imperfect, centrifugal, sometimes incomprehensible language," Mr Gilbey said. "Derek has said his poems are an 'assembly point' and his non-conclusive riddling is spell-binding."

Dr Motion now lives in Narrandera and works as a Regional Arts Development Officer, but grew up in Wagga Wagga where he studied creative writing has English (Honours) degree from CSU, going on to successfully complete a PhD at CSU on the 'poetics of failure' in Australian poetry. During this time Dr Motion worked as Director of the Booranga Writers' Centre and published his first collection of poems, Lollyology (2012).

New businesses to get boot camp in Bathurst

Residents in the NSW Central West with ideas for innovations can learn the latest in startup and innovation strategy at a 'Starting a Business' boot camp to be held in Bathurst in March.

Hosted by CenWest Innovate, based at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst, budding entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and innovators will gain an understanding of agile planning, creating a minimum viable product, proof of concept development, ideas validation, risk mitigation, business modelling and more during the two day workshop.

"A major challenge for new entrepreneurs is developing products that customers will want to buy, will be competitive in the market, and generate enough cash flow for their business to remain viable," said CenWest Innovate director, Professor Mark Morrison from the University's School of Management and Marketing.

"New businesses need to be able to develop and test their ideas in the market in a way that helps refine their product or service and reduces the costs of not getting it completely right the first time.

"This boot camp aims to overcome some of these issues."

The free boot camp will be led by Troy Haines, CEO of theSPACE in Cairns, who will share his ideas on the fundamental processes of effectively 'Turning Ideas into Reality' to invigorate and inspire a start-up business community in the NSW Central West.

The boot camp will run from 6pm to 9pm on Friday 24 March and from 9am to 5pm on Saturday 25 March.

To enrol or find out more information, contact Ms Marie-Christine Sweeney at CenWest Innovate on telephone (02) 6338 4503, or send an email.

CSU students get carbon foot in campus door

Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are aiming to change their behaviours to significantly reduce their carbon use in 2017.

During the recent Orientation Week, nearly 300 students at CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Wagga Wagga, Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst and Port Macquarie signed a pledge to reduce their personal carbon footprint.

CSU Green Manager, Mr Ed Maher, said that the students' behaviour changes would also contribute towards the University's carbon neutrality status.

"Charles Sturt University is currently the only University in Australia that has been certified as carbon neutral by the federal government. This means that we have done a lot of work to reduce our emissions and the remaining amount of greenhouse gases we emit into the atmosphere are equal to the amount that we offset through certified offset projects associated with reforestation in central NSW and a range of internationally-based renewable energy systems," Mr Maher said.

"The student pledges, which are a new Orientation activity, also make students aware of what it takes to be carbon neutral. The students embraced the initiative with absolute enthusiasm. This reminds us that our strong leadership in this area is important to these future leaders and professionals in the making."

Student pledges included actions aimed at reducing waste and improving energy efficiency as well as in conserving water.

Mr Maher said popular pledges included 'I'm committed to turning off my computer at the power point when not in use, using reusable bags and saying no to plastic and packaging, and get my coffee in a Keep Cup because I know disposable cups are rubbish and are not recyclable'.

"Charles Sturt University is supporting the students' pledges by employing four student Sustainability Advisers who live on campus and will lead sustainability initiatives with students and help them fulfil their pledges," he said.

The advisers will live on CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Orange and Wagga Wagga.

CSU students takes a cut for a good cause

Meeting cancer patients during her work placement has inspired a Charles Sturt University (CSU) student to shave her head to raise money to help people with the disease.

Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science student, Ms Rachel Hindi, is taking part in the Leukaemia Foundation's World's Greatest Shave fundraising campaign.

"I'm specialising in radiation therapy and spent a work placement at a cancer therapy centre at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney," Ms Hindi said.

"It was very humbling to spend time with the patients I was treating and to gain a better understanding of the challenges they face and the impact that cancer has on them and their families.

"The other staff on my work placement we involved in fundraising and I decided that I wanted to do something to help.

"The money raised through The World's Greatest Shave gives families facing blood cancer emotional and practical support, as well as funding research."

Ms Hindi's long curly locks will be shaved at The Crow Bar at CSU on Friday 17 March. You can support the CSU student here.

Ms Hindi is in the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science (with specialisations) is a four year program offered by CSU in Port Macquarie and Wagga Wagga.

Big Day In at CSU in Wagga Wagga

High school students from the Riverina will have the chance to explore careers in technology as the Big Day In makes its way to Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Wednesday 8 March.

The Big Day In is an IT careers event designed for students in Years 9 to 12 as well as university students interested in careers in technology.

The conference is hosted by CSU in conjunction with the ACS Foundation which facilitates sponsorship of technology education and research projects.

CSU in Wagga Wagga is the first of 10 locations hosting Big Day In conferences around Australia. The free event be held in Joyes Hall, Pine Gully Road at CSU in Wagga Wagga from 9am to 2.30pm.

Exhibitors at this year's event include Digital Careers, WiseTech Global, Adobe, Technology One, Agrihack, Westpac Group, PDK, TAFE, and Silvertone Electronics.

ACS Foundation Executive Director Mr John Ridge, said "We aim to attract students who have an interest or passion for IT and technology, and give them the opportunity to hear from people in the industry, and ask them questions. 

"This allows them to be better informed before making decisions about their future careers."

This is the third consecutive year that CSU has hosted the Big Day In conference, with over 400 students attending last year. 

Further information is available here.