A group of five teaching students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Australia will spend the next four months studying at the CSU campus in Ontario, Canada. The students from Bathurst, Albury and Dubbo are studying the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) through the Faculty of Education. Dubbo-based student, Mr Pete Minney, seized the opportunity to study abroad. “I can broaden my experience by observing first-hand the strategies teachers from another country use and whether the children benefit from a different approach to education,” he said. The exchange has been supported by CSU Global, a University initiative which aims to increase the number of students undertaking international experiences as part of their studies.

With the Australian carbon tax on the horizon, Charles Sturt University (CSU) will provide an international perspective on how businesses can effectively account for their energy costs with a presentation on Wednesday 3 August. Professor Ulrich Nissen, from the University of Applied Science in Germany, will give a presentation on accounting for energy costs. Event organiser Dr Dianne McGrath with CSU’s School of Accounting and Institute for Land, Water and Society said Australian companies acknowledge they need to account for current and future energy costs. “This is where accounting professionals can assist. Business managers and accountants will need to develop skills and qualifications in energy cost management for now and especially the future, issues Professor Nissen has recently addressed by modifying university teaching in accounting in Germany,” Dr McGrath said. Professor Nissen’s presentation will commence at 9am until 11am on Wednesday 3 August via video conference in the Business Faculty building, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

Deserving students will receive a total of 68 scholarships worth nearly $245 000 at a special luncheon ceremony for donors and recipients at the CD Blake Auditorium at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Friday 27 May. The annual CSU Foundation scholarship presentation ceremony will be hosted by CSU Head of Campus in Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, and the Chancellor of CSU, Mr Lawrie Willett, AO, will be present. A notable scholarship to be presented is the inaugural Peter Andren Memorial Scholarship, which aims to encourage true investigative journalism by providing funding for a project or proposal that explores a significant topic within our community or on a worldwide scale. The Peter Andren Memorial Scholarship will be presented by his son, Mr Josh Andren. The Omya Australia Pty Ltd scholarship to a long-term resident of the Bathurst region, valued at $4 000, will be awarded to communication student Mr Angus Thompson.General information about CSU scholarships can be found here. Information about scholarships specific to CSU in Bathurst can be found here.

The newly-operational dental clinics at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst and Dubbo will be officially opened by The Hon. Simon Crean, MP, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development, Local Government, and Minister for the Arts, on Friday 13 May. CSU Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Ian Goulter, said the dental clinics will be used to provide training for CSU’s dental and oral health students and to provide sorely needed dental services to the community. “The opening of the dental clinics by Minister Crean demonstrates the importance to sustainable regional development of educating the future professional workforce for rural and regional Australia in rural and regional Australia,” Professor Goulter said. The opening ceremony in Bathurst will commence at 10am and Mr Crean will be available to speak to the media at 10.45am. He will then travel to Dubbo to open the CSU dental clinic there at 1pm.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic who was due to travel to disaster stricken Japan next week has instead organised a Uniting Church service in Bathurst on Wednesday 23 March for victims and survivors. Professor Sharynne McLeod, from CSU’s Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education, was to accompany a tour by Bathurst High School students to Bathurst’s sister city, Okuma, the site of the Fukushima Dai-ichi (No.1) nuclear power plant. “I am organising this service in response to my connection with the children of the world through my professional role with Charles Sturt University and my Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship,” Professor McLeod said. “Bathurst students visit the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant each year on their visit to Okuma, and this year’s group were scheduled to visit it in the coming weeks. As well as sending students to visit Okuma annually, Bathurst High School was to have 11 students from Okuma visit Bathurst this week, arriving 20 March. Of the 11 students to visit, seven have fathers who work at the power plant. It is a very tragic situation.” Ms Joyce Voerman, a staff member at the School of Teacher Education who recently returned from teaching English in Okuma for two years, will speak at the service with other people who have had a close association with Japan.

Three students studying dental science, medical radiation science and journalism at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst, Orange and Wagga Wagga have been named the winners of the inaugural Residence Life International Travel Scholarships.  The new competitive scholarship scheme was established to recognise the outstanding work and commitment to continual improvement demonstrated by students within the CSU Halls of Residence.  Mr Oran Yota, a Bachelor of Dental Science student  in Orange, will use his $2 500 scholarship for a trip to Wattana Hospital in northeast Thailand. “I will be looking at the hospital’s dental programs, how dentists are perceived in other cultures and how they teach people in the local community,” Mr Yota said. Ms Madeline Jensen, a Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science student at CSU in Wagga Wagga, will put her $1 250 scholarship towards an overseas volunteering program in Vietnam working with orphans with disabilities in June. Ms Gabrielle Timmins, a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) student in Bathurst, has also been awarded $1 250. She is developing a documentary examining young entrepreneurs in India, sustainable tourism initiatives and the transformation of rural India.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is addressing the critical need for professionals in regional Australia, such as accountants and nurses, with a program that encourages TAFE diploma students to enrol in CSU degrees. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers said CSU will guarantee entry into most of its undergraduate courses to people who have completed diplomas and advanced diplomas from any TAFE institution in Australia. “In addition, TAFE students who have also completed a Tertiary Preparation Certificate (TPC) and gained  a Tertiary Entrance Score of 157 or over are also eligible for guaranteed entry into Charles Sturt University undergraduate courses,” Professor Chambers said. This program is in addition to the existing scholarship program between CSU and a number of regional and metropolitan TAFE institutions across NSW and Victoria. “Charles Sturt University is committed to supporting the aspirations of TAFE graduates.  It provides pathways to its professional degrees from TAFE diplomas and advanced diplomas based on substantial credit for prior learning,” Professor Chambers said.  

Two Charles Sturt University (CSU) student advertising teams have again been named as finalists in the annual 2010 International Advertising Association’s (IAA) National inter-University ‘Big Idea’ competition. Ms Anne Llewellynn, lecturer in advertising, at the School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst, said, “Teams from the University’s Kajulu Communications have won the national competition five times in the last seven years. The competition attracts entries from all IAA-accredited institutions around Australia and the IAA invites two teams from each to submit an industry-standard professional campaign presentation for an Australian charity or not-for-profit organisation. This year, the client was the outback charity, Frontier Services. For any team to make the top three is a huge achievement, and I couldn’t be happier or hope for more than to have both Charles Sturt University teams - Kajulu Blue and Kajulu Red - as two of the three finalists.” Congratulating all the teams in the competition, Mr Tim Parker, chair of the IAA judging panel, said, “All of the judges were stunned by the depth and the quality of the submissions, which is a tribute to the smart young people involved and the faculties they represent”.

Long service awards will be presented to Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff who’ve served 20 and 30 years with the University. The Head of Campus at CSU in Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, will present medallions to ten staff for 20-years service and to two for 30-years service at a ceremony on Monday 1 November. Mr Sharp said, “I congratulate each of the medal recipients. They have dedicated a major part of their working lives to Charles Sturt University, and in doing this they have contributed greatly to our regional communities, to our state and to Australia. Over these 20 to 30 years, the University has grown so much and helped so many people start or further their careers, and each of these staff members must feel a great deal of pride in their contribution to this development.”