A trial project encouraging Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff to take personal responsibility for cutting their computer and monitor energy use has concluded with results showing energy use dropped by one-third. Meters were installed in the offices of volunteers from the School of Education at CSU in Wagga Wagga for two week periods earlier this year. In the first week of the trial, participants were instructed to use their computers ‘as per usual’. In the second week they made a conscious effort to use less energy by turning computers off at the power point at the end of each day and by switching off monitors when leaving the room for more than 10 minutes. “The project found that energy use in the second week fell by an average of 32 per cent,” said team member Ms Barbara Conlan. The amount of energy saved in the second week was 62 kilowatt-hours for the 30 volunteers, equivalent to an annual saving of approximately $470. “One of the aims of this project was to promote a cultural change within Charles Sturt University as well as to provide case studies for education students on ways to be environmentally sustainable in schools, workplaces and homes.”

The retiring NSW Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Nicholas Cowdery, will deliver a public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Tuesday 3 August. Ms Kath McFarlane, lecturer in justice studies at the CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Bathurst, said, “We are delighted that the Charles Sturt University Occasional Lecture series will host Mr Cowdery to speak about Human Rights and Law and Order Politics. Mr Cowdery has had a distinguished legal career and his perspectives are often controversial. This timely free public lecture will be of interest to University staff, students and members of the Bathurst community alike.” The free public lecture will be delivered on Tuesday 3 August from 5pm to 6.30pm in the main lecture theatre (Room 2.23) in building S15 at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst. Light refreshments will be available after the lecture.

The Flinders Ranges in South Australia beckon Mr Joey Hull, Indigenous Student Support Officer at the Wammara Indigenous Student Services Unit at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst, when he retires on Friday 30 July. For the last four and a half years Mr Hull has recruited Indigenous students from across regional NSW to CSU courses, and has seen positive growth in both interest and applications. “I look forward to heading home to my mother’s country in the Flinders Ranges, but I leave Charles Sturt University confident that this extremely important role, and the University’s mission to increase the number of Indigenous students and graduates, will continue,” Mr Hull said. “When I started we had about 35 students who were offered courses through the Koori Admissions Program (KAP), but in 2009, as a result of the KAP, we had a big increase in enquiries which translated into 53 student enrolments in a range of courses in 2010. Many of the enquiries were for the policing course, which enrolled 10 Indigenous students this year, and the rest were spread across areas such as teaching, psychology, mental health, natural resources and social work.”

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) students who formed 18 teams to compete in 10 sports at the recent 2010 Eastern University Games at Coffs Harbour in NSW came fourth overall on points and won the Ann Mitchell Cup for points scored per capita of university enrolments. The CSU team manager, Mr Nik Granger, said, “This is a very good result from a great week of competition where all our students participated in the right spirit. The Charles Sturt University team comprised 180 students from all our campuses, as well as some distance education students. The competition was extremely good, and we had a few teams heading for gold medals. After dominating the pools, our highly-fancied Mixed Touch Football team took the silver medal when, in the final game, they contested a University of Wollongong side that contained a number of national representative players. The Ten Pin Bowlers were the surprise, finishing the competition with a silver medal, as did one of the Lawn Bowls teams. We can be very proud of this effort.”

The generosity of an Australian non-profit organisation has guaranteed four Charles Sturt University (CSU) Dentistry students receive more than $50,000 each towards their studies. At a recent scholarship and award function at CSU in Orange, the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation (VFFF) awarded four first-year students annual scholarships of $10,000 during their five years of study. Since 1962 the VFFF has distributed in excess of $70 million to non-profit organisations in Australia. The future of young people is of particular interest to the VFFF, as are the special needs of Australians living beyond the major metropolitan centres, particularly in rural and outback Australia. “With graduates from the School Dentistry and Health Sciences encouraged to practice in regional Australia, these scholarships are not only helping four students each year, they stand to benefit regional Australia as a whole,” said Head of School, Professor David Wilson.

A unique educational program for young people will be revealed during a public lecture hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 8 July. The ‘Putting Youth in the Picture’ (PYP) program was created by Queensland lawyer, Mr Adair Donaldson, to help local communities deal with issues confronting youth. “Our program uses a series of authentic but confronting movie scenarios to show how young people can become involved in life altering incidents as a result of poor decision making,” said Mr Donaldson. “The issues presented and discussed include sexual assault, a bar-room fight, illegal recreational drugs, binge and underage drinking.” Mr Peter Bell, Manager, Residential Operations with the Division of Student Services at CSU in Wagga Wagga said, “Charles Sturt University is extremely fortunate to be one of only two universities outside Queensland to deliver this impressive program.”

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) has invested over $1 million in the research and development of commercial bio-pesticides at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. Heading the research team is Associate Professor Gavin Ash from the School of Agriculture and Wine Sciences  at CSU in Wagga Wagga and acting Director of the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation  – an alliance between CSU and Industry & Investment NSW. “Integrated pest management programs that reduce the reliance on chemical pesticides are likely to provide better management strategies to ensure a sustainable future for the Australian grain industry,” said Professor Ash. The current project, which focuses on the management of aphids, has been funded for three years until middle 2013.

It has been a busy few months for Ms Amanda Davies, a lecturer with the School of Policing Studies  at CSU in Goulburn. The award-winning lecturer recently published a book and conducted research in the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada. The CSU academic visited the UK to research the use of simulation in policing training. “I am interviewing police in the field who have undertaken training through simulation and reflecting on how this has impacted on their professional practice. The research seeks to inform the design, implementation and educational benefits of using simulation in the future training of police.” Ms Davies then moved onto Canada for the implementation of Problem Based Learning in policing. “In Canada, I travelled between the Durham Regional Police Service and Sudbury Regional Police, meeting training officers, field offices and recruits to understand how they have implemented the Problem Based Learning concepts into their recruit training.” Ms Davies’ new book evaluates the impact of delivering fire investigation studies using a CD-ROM with virtual fire scene scenarios.

With entries closing this Friday 2 July, young people around NSW and the ACT are finding their creative streak as final entries to the 2010 Making a Difference (MaD) competition flow in to MaD headquarters at Charles Sturt University (CSU). This CSU School of Humanities and Social Sciences Social Justice Innovation Award offers senior high school and TAFE students the platform to write about Making a Difference and it seems there are plenty of topics to choose from. “The task is to write an engaging story/poem/script that is creative and addresses an issue of Social Justice. It could be fictional or non-fiction. The four major winners each receive a $250 cash prize. In addition, Charles Sturt University also makes a donation of $250 to the charity of choice of the winners,” explains Dr Bill Anscombe. For more information, and to see the winners from 2009, visit www.csu.edu.au/student/mad/ .