Igniting an interest in all areas of science is the goal behind expos being hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Albury-Wodonga and Wagga Wagga in June. Local high and primary school students will attend the Science in the Bush Expos at Wagga Wagga on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 June and in Albury on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 June. The days will include exhibitions, interactive talks, shows and workshops about all things science. Topics to be presented by a range of science organisations including CSU, The University of Sydney, the Powerhouse Museum and Australian Museum include Fibre Optics; Hot Rocks; Electric Soils; Forensics; and A Look Inside the Cranium. Science in the Bush is hosted by CSU as a part of the Science in the City project run by the Australian Museum and Executive Partner the University of Sydney. A comprehensive program of activities can be found here.

Three expos to be held in northeast Victoria next week over three days will showcase Australian tertiary institutions and courses on offer in 2010. Over 40 institutions including Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be represented at the information days to be held in Shepparton on Monday 22 June, Wangaratta on Tuesday 23 June and Albury-Wodonga on Wednesday 24 June. Representatives from local and interstate universities, institutes of NSW TAFE and private providers will be available to discuss career options with Years 11 and 12 students from Victoria and NSW over the three days. “The days present a great opportunity to find out about the courses students are interested in one place at one time,” said CSU Prospective Student Adviser, Ms Rebecca Gale Collins.

A confronting portrayal of daily life for women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be brought home during a public lecture in Albury on Wednesday 17 June by Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Dr Elaine Dietsch. For the past five years, Dr Dietsch, a senior lecturer in CSU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, has worked with traditional midwives and women in the DRC. Her public lecture, Hell, Horror and Hope in the Democratic Republic of Congo, relates to her last visit to the country in May and June 2008. Despite the official end of civil war in the equatorial African country, women and girls in the country's south-east continue to experience sexual assault and torture. The address, part of the CSU 2009 Public Lecture series, will be held in Nowik Auditorium, CSU Albury City site, Guinea St, Albury.

People with communication problems resulting from neurological impairment who have been employed to tutor small groups of speech pathology students will be thanked at a ceremony at Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Wednesday 10 June. Employed by the University’s speech pathology program to tutor the third year students for 18 hours over six weeks, the client-tutor program helps the students catch a glimpse of their clients’ worlds. The tutors teach the CSU students about what it is like to live each day with communication problems resulting from such conditions as stroke or traumatic brain injury. The tutors also discussed the experiences of their family members; their experiences of therapy and of the health service in general; and their experiences of community attitudes towards their disability. The ceremony will include short presentations by the five student groups about their experiences with their tutors. This event will be held at 3pm on 10 June, in the Sloshed Cod, CSU Albury City site, off Olive St, Albury.

 

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will celebrate the award of six green stars and ‘world leader’ status for environmentally sustainable features to a new building on its Thurgoona site. The Academic Accommodation Stage 3 (AA3) office building has received “a six star Green Star ‘World Leader’ certified rating under Office Design v2” from the national Green Building Council of Australia. Staff from the AA3 building, which is home to the academic staff and students of CSU’s School of Business and Information Technology, will be on hand celebrate the award at a morning tea at 10am on Monday 15 June. “The principles used in buildings at Thurgoona demonstrate a comprehensive, environmentally sensitive process that spans from site planning to selection of materials,” said Executive Director of the University’s Division of Facilities Management, Mr Stephen Butt. Innovative aspects of the building that receive special mention include reduced carbon dioxide production and energy consumption by 65 per cent, and the world’s first use of phase-changing materials in the concrete floor to reduce heating and cooling used in the building.

Before sunrise, a dedicated group of Charles Sturt University (CSU) students are focussed on evaluating the quality of meat carcasses. The students enrolled in animal, equine, agricultural and veterinary sciences arrive at companies like Cargill Beef Australia and Knights Meats in Wagga Wagga and the Junee Abattoir as early as six o’clock in the morning to learn about carcass evaluation and meat quality.  The student group is led by CSU’s carcass evaluation expert and fifth year Veterinary Science student Mr Richard Sanders.  “The importance of maintaining the flow of trained young experts in the speciality field of Meat Science to service the needs of the beef, sheep and pork industries is not lost on these companies,” said CSU Professor of Animal Production Peter Wynn. “The companies willingly make their facilities available each year for the education of our students.” The students will attend a carcass evaluation workshop sponsored by Meat and Livestock Australia in Armidale in early July.  They will then have a chance to participate in an elite national training workshop and selection in an Australian team to compete in international carcass evaluation competitions.  “None of these opportunities would be possible without the support of the management of these companies,” said Professor Wynn.

 

Television production students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga have broken new ground in their on-going development of links with industry. The Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has agreed to the establishment of a CSU student chapter of the Society. The Society's Board of Governors approved the move during a meeting in Atlanta in the United States on Thursday 4 June. The move is the inaugural student chapter in Australia. Formed in 1916, the SMPTE is regarded as the leading technical society for the motion imaging industry. "This new relationship will give CSU students access to conferences, papers, scholarships, guest lectures and of course international industry contacts," said television production course co-ordinator Mr Patrick Sproule. "I believe the approval to form the CSU student chapter shows an enormous respect for the course at Charles Sturt University as well as the Society's recognition of the importance of investment in education in the TV and film industries. A special thanks to past chairman of SMPTE Australian Section, Mr John Maizels, for recommending the formation of the student chapter and shepherding us through due process." Meanwhile, the SMPTE Australian Section has donated $6 000 so 85 Bachelor of Arts (Television Production) students at CSU at Wagga Wagga can attend the SMPTE09 conference in Sydney in July.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) student who has also studied with the TAFE NSW Riverina Institute has been recognised for his achievements at the WorldSkills National Competition held recently in Sydney. Mr Aaron Talbot, who studied jointly with CSU and TAFE NSW Riverina Institute in Albury, was part of the highly successful Riverina/Murray team that competed against the most highly skilled young people in Australia. Mr Talbot, who worked for WHK in Albury, received the Gold Medal in Information Technology (IT) PC Networking Support at the competition.  He has received one of only 17 nationally competitive BBM Limited Scholarships for young people in any trade who are highly skilled and show leadership qualities. The scholarship includes study in the United Kingdom (UK) to take part in a leadership program as well as overseas work placements.

Two Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from Wagga Wagga have been recently honoured with excellence awards from TAFE NSW Riverina Institute. Mr Haydon Churchill received a Riverina Institute Faculty Award for Excellence in IT on Friday 22 May after he completed his Diploma of Information Technology (Networking) in 2008. He is now completing a Bachelor of Information Technology at CSU as well as working in the University’s Division of Information Technology. “I am hoping my load is a little lighter this year and I can now concentrate just on my university studies,” said Mr Churchill. Meanwhile, Ms Judy Allen has received a TAFE NSW Riverina Institute Faculty Award for Excellence in General Education after she excelled in her Certificate IV in Tertiary Preparation in 2008. During her studies at TAFE NSW Riverina Institute, Ms Allen achieved a tertiary entrance score of 283 out of 300. The mother of five was the highest ranked student in her course at the Riverina Institute and the 29th highest in NSW. Now enrolled in her first year of a Bachelor of Arts at CSU, Ms Allen’s education path began 10 years ago when she enrolled at the Riverina Institute in an entry level course for women. She went on to complete a number of courses at the Riverina Institute. CSU and TAFE NSW work closely to ensure all students have the opportunity for further study. Read more here.