Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will host 60 Year 9 students from Blayney Public School, Portland Central School, and Denison College for a 'Future Directions Day' on Friday 19 July. The day is part of CSU’s Future Moves Program, which works at building aspiration for higher education amongst school students in regional NSW and Victoria. Ms Tonya Graham, Future Moves coordinator said, “The Future Directions Day will be the first of its kind to target Year 9 students. By introducing young people to a university campus and enabling them to interact with university students and staff we’re hoping to encourage them to consider tertiary education as a realistic and accessible option. We want to trigger conversations about post-school options early so that students see university as a realistic pathway and feel confident with the career choices they make.” Students will participate in interactive workshops from 10am-2.30pm assisted by CSU staff in various areas, including robotics, paramedics and political science. Students will also tour the campus and have lunch in the University dining hall like university students. Read more about Future Moves here.

A Bachelor of Agricultural Science graduate from Charles Sturt University (CSU) has competed in an international competition that tests the agribusiness skills of students. Mr Will Porter who studied through CSU’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, was part of a team of five Australian university students which competed at the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) conference in the United States in June. The team was given a case study and had four hours to prepare and present a business plan to a panel of judges. The Australian team came a close second in the heat but Mr Porter said the real value was attending the conference itself. “It was a wonderful opportunity to meet people involved in the global agribusiness sector, to talk about the challenges and the opportunities for career development.”  Mr Porter graduated from CSU in 2012 and now works as an agronomist for Auscott Limited in Narrabri in northern NSW.

Student meat judges from Charles Sturt University (CSU) have claimed the title of the highest scoring Australian team at the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) competition held in Wagga Wagga last week. During the competition, 130 university students from Australia, Japan, the USA, Pakistan, Indonesia and South Korea judged lamb, pork and beef carcases along with cuts of meat.  The team of 12 students from CSU’s School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences was beaten by just one point by a team from Kansas State University in the USA.  “This magnificent result is due to the commitment and hard work of the students and their coaches who have spent many early mornings training at the abattoir,” said CSU Professor of Animal Production Peter Wynn. Four members of the CSU team, Ms Ebony Mull, Ms Laura Kemmis, Ms Tamara Heir and Ms Mikhalla Middleton have also been selected in the 10-member national training squad that can earn a place in the Australian team to tour the USA in 2014. Read the full ICMJ competition results for 2013 here.

A five year extension to a Memorandum of Understanding between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Ontario Principals' Council provides school administrators with a global perspective on education. The two organisations have worked together since 2007, resulting in the Master of International Education (School Leadership), a program offered by distance education through CSU in Ontario.  “The extension of this partnership is significant as it encourages aspiring and practising school administrators in Ontario to further their education in a program that focuses on school leadership in a global context,” said Program Director Dr Zeffie Nicholas. “This focus allows candidates to bring a global theoretical and practical lens to their local contexts.” More than 40 graduates have been awarded a Master of International Education (School Leadership) with another 20 due to complete the program by the end of 2013. CSU President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Vann and the Executive Director of the Ontario Principals' Council Mr Ian MacFarlane signed the MOU at a ceremony at CSU in Ontario in June.

Psychologist, social researcher and novelist Mr Hugh Mackay has spent his working life asking Australians about their values, motivations, ambitions, hopes and fears. He’ll share his thoughts about ‘What makes a life worth living?’ in a free Charles Sturt University (CSU) Explorations public lecture in Wagga Wagga from 6pm on Wednesday 31 July. “The good life is not the sum of our security, wealth, and levels of happiness,” said Mr Mackay. “It is one defined by our capacity for selflessness, the quality of our relationships, and our willingness to connect with others in a useful way.” In the public lecture, Mr Mackay will explore our pursuit of pleasure, our attempts to perfect ourselves and our children, and our conviction that we can have our lives under control. The public lecture is booked out.

A key Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher has been returned to the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GDRC) Southern Regional Panel for the next two years. Associate Professor of Food Science Chris Blanchard from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga is the Deputy Chair of the Panel. The CSU academic is one of 11 members appointed until 2015. The Regional Panels link the Corporation with growers, researchers, scientists, agribusiness and grower groups. Southern Regional Panel Chair, Mr Keith Pengilley, described the Panels as, “very important in ensuring grower concerns, ideas and priorities are fed into GRDC”. Associate Professor Blanchard is also a member of the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation - an alliance between CSU and NSW DPI.

Regional Victorians will receive a boost in access to higher education with a new degree in animal care and veterinary nursing to be investigated by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in partnership with Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE (GOTAFE) at Wangaratta in north east Victoria. On 24 July 2013 the Victorian Minister for Higher Education and Skills, The Hon. Peter Hall, launched a $1.3 million project that will fund the scoping and development of a new qualification, a Bachelor of Veterinary Technology, intended to be offered from 2015. The course will be offered to Year 12 school leavers, applicants who have not completed Year 12 and undertake qualifications with Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE, and veterinary nurses looking to upgrade their qualifications. Executive Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Science, Professor Tim Wess, said the project would involve a two stage process of scoping and then development in consultation with the veterinary industry to ensure graduates are highly skilled professionals that fill industry requirements. “This proposed new course builds on our established reputation in veterinary and animal sciences, further expands our course offerings, and enhances pathways for regional students” Professor Wess said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Professor of Applied Ecology Geoff Gurr will address one of the world’s most urgent challenges when he delivers the Poggendorff Lecture for 2013 as part of National Science Week. The biennial lecture is an initiative of the Royal Society of NSW in honour of Walter Hans George Poggendorff, the eminent Australian agriculturalist and member of the society, and covers agriculture in a broad sense. Professor Gurr, from CSU in Orange, will address the topic ‘Biodiversity and the future of agriculture’. “One of the greatest challenges the world is facing right now is how we plan to feed the estimated population of 9 billion by 2050,” he said. “Not only do we have to meet that challenge, we have to do it in the face of declining availability of good-quality land and water, and the need to preserve biodiversity to provide critical ecosystem services.” Professor Gurr will draw on his international research program to explain how biodiversity can be harnessed to provide effective pest suppression and illustrate how on-farm biodiversity can advantage growers and the wider community.