Archive
Future teachers showcase their skills
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003Cultural awareness in the classroom, and the importance of incorporating cultural awareness and understanding at an early age, is among topics to be presented at a conference today, Wednesday 5 November, by trainee teachers finishing their final year in education at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Albury-Wodonga. Teachers and members of the public have been invited to attend the ‘ECON 2008: Teachers of the Future’ conference to learn about the students’ work and learning over the past four years. The conference includes guest speakers Professor Jennifer Sumsion, Sub Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Education, and Assistant Principal at Melrose Primary School in Wodonga, Ms Maree Geoghegan. ECON 2008 will runs from 4 to 8.30pm in the CSU Cliff Blake Lecture Theatre complex, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.
Pros and cons of genetically modified crops
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003As part of its mission to develop productive and efficient agricultural systems, the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, an alliance between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Department of Primary Industries, is holding a working breakfast about genetically modified (GM) crops and their projected impact. Organiser and CSU post-doctoral fellow, Dr Rex Stanton, says the event is targeted at farmers, advisors and consultants and will feature two speakers who will share their international knowledge of GM crops. “Suzanne Warwick is a research scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, who researches weed and crop evolution and is studying the environmental impact of commercially released GM modified canola crops,” he said. “Culcairn farmer and 2007 Nuffield Scholar, Mr Murray Scholz, will explain his recent study of the implications of herbicide tolerant GM crops on weed management in North America, Europe and South America.”
Marketing Mint money
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Five groups of final year marketing students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will deliver marketing plans to representatives of the Royal Australian Mint at a presentation at the Bathurst Campus on Thursday 6 November. Lecturer in marketing at the School of Marketing and Management, Mr Andrew Mashman, explained that following an invitation from Dr Felicity Mullens, Marketing Manager of the Royal Australian Mint, his class of strategic marketing management students travelled to Canberra to inspect the Mint and be briefed about Australia’s diminishing use of coin-based currency, the Mint’s core business. After returning, the students worked in groups for eight weeks to explore marketing strategies and research opportunities the Mint could consider. “Each group will deliver a 20-minute presentation to communicate how they would ensure the longevity of Australia’s premium minting facility,” Mr Mashman said. “The students feel the pressure to perform because of the client’s involvement, and as graduating students they know this will be an important step in their transition into the workforce in 2009.”Ten years for Indigenous education expo
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Murray School of Education will celebrate ten years of providing Indigenous educational experiences for its early childhood education students in Lavington on Wednesday 12 November. The CSU students will provide 400 primary school students from Albury and Wodonga with a bush-tucker barbeque, face painting, boomerang making, clap-stick and bandana painting, cave construction, dance, music and storytelling, all based on Indigenous cultures. Wiradjuri spokesperson and CSU education lecturer, Yalmambirra, said the subject gave many students their first hands-on experiences of Indigenous cultures and that these were important for educating future teachers. The Indigenous cultural education day will be held between 9am and 2.30pm at Mirrambeena Community Centre, Martha Mews, Lavington (opposite the North Albury swimming pool).
Business films screened for CSU competition
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003Entries in a short film competition sponsored by the Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Marketing and Management will be screened on Wednesday evening, 12 November, at the CSU at Bathurst. The CSU Flix - M&M Short Film Awards focus on the topic ‘Life as a business student with the CSU School of Marketing and Management’. There are three prizes valued at $2 000 for the winners, chosen from three categories which focus on the experience of students enrolled in distance education, on campus or postgraduate studies. The short film entries will be used on CSU websites for prospective students wanting an insight into student life. Admission on the night is by donation to Headspace, a charity for young people with mental health problems in Bathurst.
Dubbo school leavers can study locally
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003With high demand for rental properties in metropolitan and regional cities and as fuel prices continue to rise, Dubbo school leavers and mature-age students are relieved Charles Sturt University (CSU) is on their doorstep allowing them to stay home and study. To assist students with questions about university study, CSU has organised a number of advisory sessions at Centro Dubbo to help with local enquiries. “CSU staff and current students will be present at these advisory sessions to answer questions and discuss courses and career options,” said Mr Gary Shipp, Head of Dubbo Campus.
New scheme falls into student laps
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
The tapping sound of typing is replacing the rustle of paper and scratching of pens across lecture theatres in regional Australia as students purchase laptop computers though Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) rebate scheme. CSU is offering a $300 rebate to on campus undergraduate students who purchase a laptop for their studies. Lecturers welcome the rebate scheme. Head of CSU at Dubbo, Mr Gary Shipp, said “The scheme is designed to encourage and assist students make the most of accessing university online systems when visiting and studying on campus. Distance students can take advantage of the scheme when required to attend compulsory residential schools on campus. I hope it will make note taking and assessment writing easier for our students."
Health workers visit Vanuatu
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003Known as the happiest country in the world, Vanuatu residents have a few less teeth to smile with after visiting medical staff extracted over 400 teeth on Tongoa Island in the western Pacific. Charles Sturt University (CSU) final year nursing student Ms Tabitha Pandey recently travelled with 11 other Australian and New Zealand health care workers to take part in a medical camp on the island. “We were amused when we went to look at the centre to find a chicken laying an egg on a bed in the labour ward,” Tabitha reports. “There was no running water or electricity and very little equipment. Despite all this, the camp was a huge success as the locals and travelling medical team pulled together and improvised with what we had.” More than 700 locals were treated by doctors, dentists, eye specialists and counsellors. “Some patients travelled several hours by boat to attend the clinic from a nearby island, which goes to show what little health care is available.”
Big electricity bills motivate users to switch off
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
An initial survey of NSW households by a Charles Sturt University researcher has found most householders are looking at ways to become more energy efficient by using less electricity. However, while environmental concern is one reason people aim to reduce their usage, according to CSU postgraduate student Ms Jodie Kleinschafer it is the “larger than expected electricity bill” that is the more immediate motivator. “When ‘average’ householders get larger than expected electricity bills, they start to look for ways to reduce the electricity they use,” said Mrs Kleinschafer, who is undertaking a three year, $100 000 research project funded by Country Energy. So far, Mrs Kleinschafer has surveyed 80 households, and in conjunction with Country Energy will survey a further 4 000 regional NSW households in the next two months. She said the findings of her research would enable electricity retailers to manage increasing electricity demand in a way that still satisfies the needs of residential electricity consumers.
Awards for CSU's Veterinary Clinical Centre
Wednesday, 1 Jan 2003
Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Veterinary Science Clinical Building at Wagga Wagga has received two awards this month for its construction and innovative design. Joss Constructions won the Master Builders Association of NSW ‘Excellence in Construction Award’ in the Tertiary Buildings category valued under $10 million. The Australian Steel Institute of NSW and ACT awarded a high recommendation in the ‘Architectural Steel Design Award’ to Merat Architects, Wood and Grieve Engineers, Joss Constructions and Southern Central Engineering. The clinic includes modern surgical facilities for large and small animals, diagnostic imaging and reproduction services for horses. Fourth year veterinary science students are the first CSU students to benefit from the clinic which was officially opened in July 2008.