Charles Sturt University (CSU) marketing students will test their skills when they pitch marketing strategies to the owners of a newly-established boutique brewery in the Bathurst region on Thursday 14 October. Marketing lecturer at the School of Business at CSU in Bathurst, Mr Andrew Mashman, said three groups of students in the Bachelor of Business (Marketing) and Bachelor of Business (Management) programs will deliver 15 minute presentations to the clients, Mr and Mrs Mick and Deb Hoban of Fish River Valley Brewing (FRVB). “The Hobans aim to create fine ales in the beautiful and historic area of the Fish River Valley upstream and east of Bathurst,” Mr Mashman said. “Freshness and quality of product are the critical aspects for FRVB, so how they achieve this better than their competitors is the biggest challenge. Our students have enjoyed this experience and I look forward to seeing the results of their research and planning when they present their ideas to the Hobans.”

For the second successive year, Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be well represented at an international meat judging competition in the USA in January next year. Two CSU students were recently selected to part of the five-member Australian team to tour the USA in January during the national college competitions. The selection of Bachelor of Agricultural Science  student Ms Jess Loughland and Bachelor of Veterinary Science student Ms Claire Pettessen followed an intensive national training workshop held in Brisbane at the end of September. “Charles Sturt University has a proud record of having two participants in this Australian team annually over the past two years,” Professor of Animal Production Peter Wynn said. “The success of our students augurs well for the future of the animal industries in our region.”

Accessibility and human rights, instead of rigid funding models, should be the priorities when planning health care services for rural and remote Australia says Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Professor of Rural and Remote Pharmacy Patrick Ball. “A model of health care funding for rural and remote Australia should be developed based on fundamental human rights and access to services rather than ‘bricks and mortar’,” Professor Patrick Ball said. The CSU academic studied two communities in central west NSW between 2006 and 2008 as part of his examination of the provision of health services outside metropolitan Australia. “We have the evidence to show that what is needed by rural and remote areas is more flexibility in allowing individual communities to meet their health needs and more emphasis on access to services rather than what hospital and which health facilities are located where.” Professor Patrick Ball will present a free public lecture on his research from 6pm in Temora on Wednesday 27 October.

Staff and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are gearing up to participate in the national Ride to Work day  on Wednesday 13 October. Groups of at five of the University’s campuses will cycle to work. “The Ride to Work program encourages workers to feel good and have fun by commuting to work by bike and experiencing the health, financial and environmental benefits of riding,”  cyclist and Manager of CSU Green Mr William Adlong said. “We have not only regular riders who will be taking part, but also staff members who usually drive their cars to work.” CSU has participated in the Ride to Work event for at least five years. A recent follow-up survey for the national Ride to Work program shows 39 percent of first-time commuters are now riding to work at least once per month and 55 percent are riding more often than this time last year.

An academic from Iceland has joined Charles Sturt University (CSU) education experts to develop better ways of listening and responding to children’s views on preparing for and going to school. Dr Johanna Einardottir, an education researcher with the University of Iceland, is particularly interested in the ways teachers get children’s views on starting school, using methods as varied as drawing, interviews, cameras and group discussions. “I have already seen how similar children are globally in regards to what concerns them, such as moving away from family and finding new friends,” she said. However, Dr Einardottir has noted some differences. “In Nordic countries such as Iceland, children go to school when they are aged six or seven years, and most are in pre-school from two-years-old. In Iceland, the government pays 80 per cent of pre-school fees.” Since arriving in Albury two weeks ago, Dr Einardottir has already attended a conference in Adelaide and is currently preparing for a major education conference on Tuesday 12 October on children starting school.

Internationally acclaimed wetland ecologist, Adjunct Professor David Mitchell, from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will deliver a free public lecture from 6pm in Parkes on Tuesday 19 October entitled Water, Drought and Climate Change. He will discuss developments in the management of water in Australian landscapes. “Concern is currently growing within Australia about the possibility of profound changes in climatic conditions and their potential to undermine many of the strategies that have been developed to sustain necessary agricultural production,” Professor Mitchell said. Professor Mitchell is from the CSU School of Environmental Sciences in Albury-Wodonga and is Principal Researcher at the University’s Institute of Land, Water and Society.

Garden lovers in Orange will be treated to a fascinating talk on the world’s best botanic gardens by one of Australia’s most celebrated botanists, Dr Tim Entwisle. A guest of the Central West Branch of the Royal Society of NSW, Dr Entwisle will visit Orange on Friday 15 October for a public lecture hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU). As Executive Director of the Sydney Botanic Gardens Trust, NSW Government Botanist and Adjunct Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Sydney, Dr Tim Entwisle is a regular guest on ABC Radio. “To Dr Entwisle, botanic gardens are all about ‘planting ideas’ - interpreting and studying plants from around the world to understand, appreciate and celebrate the importance of plants to life,” Head of Campus at CSU in Orange, Professor Kevin Parton said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host a national conference on ageing and wellbeing later in life. The fifth National CAPS Conference will be held at University House in Canberra from Tuesday 28 September to Friday 1 October. Professor of Theology and Director of the Centre for Ageing and Pastoral Care (CAPS),  Reverend Professor Elizabeth MacKinlay, AM, said, “The theme of the conference – Resilience, Resistance and Change – aims to focus discussions on the many issues around ageing. The conference is intended for all professionals who work in this field, such as theologians, clergy, health professionals and therapists, and anyone interested in improving the quality of life for older people”. Keynote speakers at the conference include Professor Keith Meador from the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University in the USA, Professor Peter Coleman from the University of Southampton in the UK and Reverend Professor MacKinlay. The conference program is available here. Further enquiries can be made to 02 6272 6205 or send an email.

 

Under the night sky of West Wyalong, two Charles Sturt University (CSU) academics will be discussing the attempts by astrophysicists to unravel some of the mysteries of dark energy and matter in the universe. A free public lecture, What is our Universe made of? will be held in the Bland Shire Council Chambers in West Wyalong from 6pm on Thursday 23 September. Lecturers in physics from the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Dr Allan Ernest and Dr Matt Collins, will present “compelling evidence for the existence of dark matter” in our universe. They will also outline the quantum-based theory of dark matter originally developed by Dr Ernest in 2001, and currently being progressed by the team at CSU to try to understand the nature and origin of dark matter. Contact Ms Julie Sharpe from Bland Shire Council on 02 6972 2266 or send an email.