In 2006 allied health students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in 2006 will be eligible for $10,000 scholarships under a new Commonwealth scheme aimed at addressing the shortage of allied health professionals in rural and regional Australia. The Head of the University’s Albury-Wodonga Campus, Professor Gail Whiteford has applauded the $4 million initiative as a timely incentive for new and continuing students studying allied health courses including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, podiatry, and psychology. “Sixty five scholarships will be available in 2006, building to 195 in 2008, which will be of enormous assistance to rural students and a terrific boost to the future of allied health in rural and regional areas,” said Professor Whiteford. The scheme is funded by the Federal Government and administered by Services for Australian Rural and Remote Allied Health Inc (SARRAH). Applications for the scholarships are expected to open in January 2006. Further information is available here.

Is it fair that educational achievement can depend on where you live? Anecdotally, it is known that young, inexperienced teachers fresh out of university are usually sent to unpopular destinations such as western NSW. Another assumption is that school students in these areas have uneven educational outcomes. Now these "hunches" have been verified by the Rural (Teacher) Education Project, and the search is on for some solutions. "It’s all about attracting, preparing, retaining and renewing teachers for the bush," said project leader Professor Bill Green from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Faculty of Education. "One key issue was that location matters. You’re getting young teachers working with often the most disadvantaged groups. They have energy and enthusiasm and embrace innovation, but the downside is they don’t have experience." Some of the early recommendations to emerge include nominating certain isolated schools as professional development centres, better preparation of student teachers, changing staffing patterns so that groups of teachers are appointed to a region, and involving local communities and government agencies so that young professionals are connecting socially. More complete findings are due next month.

Diseases in one of Australia’s important rotational crops, canola, are the subject of a 12 month long research visit to the E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation by Professor Minquan Li from China. As Head of the Department of Plant Protection at Gansu Agricultural University in China, Professor Li will work alongside two E H Graham Centre researchers in Wagga Wagga, Associate Professor Gavin Ash from Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Doctor Gordon Murray, from the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI). The E H Graham Centre is a joint research venture between CSU and DPI. The management of bacteria and pathogens in the soil will be examined as they prevent the crop from reaching its full potential. “Professor Li’s trip demonstrates the scope for international co-operation in agricultural research and aims to increase the ties between Australia and China in the long term,” said E H Graham Centre Director Professor Deirdre Lemerle.

Academic cooperation between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and a university in southern Taiwan has been formalised by the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The document was signed by CSU Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter and President of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Professor Chang-Hung Chou. While links have already been established in the areas of plant protection and equine studies, the academic cooperation between the institutions could include joint research programs, exchange of academic staff and students or the organisation of joint activities such as courses, conferences, seminars or lectures. The MOU was signed during a visit in late August to CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus by Professor Chou.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will launch a new comprehensive leadership development program for women staff this Monday 6 February. Australian universities record low numbers of women in senior management positions, with national figures showing just 11 per cent of women hold professorial positions. The CSU Leadership Development for Women Program will run throughout 2006 and commences with a week of activities being held from Monday 6 February to Friday 10 February. Guest speakers who will give presentations on their experience of moving into leadership positions include:  Dr Jeane McConachie, Director Division of Teaching and Learning Services, Central Queensland University; Ms Sarah Davies, Vice-President Student Affairs, Swinburne University; and Professor Margaret Sheil, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) at University of Wollongong. Associate Professor Marian Tulloch, Director CSU's Centre for Enhancing, Learning and Teaching or CELT will officially launch the program at 2 pm Monday 6 February in the Foundation Rooms, Centre for Professional Development on CSU’s Bathurst Campus.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is welcoming new students for the start of the 2006 academic year. For many, it will be their first move away from home. Students from around Australia and overseas are arriving at CSU campuses in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga in central and southern NSW. Orientation week (O Week) starts on Monday 13 or Tuesday 14 February for most of the new arrivals, and will include intensive sessions on enrolments, study skills and using the CSU Library and computer facilities, as well as getting to know the University, its people and the towns in which they will live. Click here to see O Week programs for each campus.

When the Dead Bones Society meets under the gigantic jaw of a T.rex, it will be boys only. Teenage fiction author, Charles Sturt University (CSU) tutor and literacy consultant Paul Stafford usually focuses on making writing ‘cool’ for ‘reluctant’ boys, but these ‘comedy horror’ workshops at the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum in Bathurst from Thursday 23 February are aimed at gifted 9 to 12 year old boys with an interest in writing and science. They will be mentored by male teacher education students from CSU, where Paul Stafford graduated with a degree in print journalism. “I’m really attracted to the idea of it being like a secret club, because boys love that kind of thing…they like to stick to their own company. The idea of a museum after-hours, a creepy old museum at night, is pretty exciting, that sort of out-of-bounds thing,” said Paul Stafford. Mr Stafford says a gifted boy of 12 could be just three or four years away from publication if he was steered along the right path.    

Health and education courses are a popular choice for commencing Charles Sturt University (CSU) students in 2006, according to the latest figures from the NSW Universities Admissions Centre.  “CSU continues to take large numbers of students into education courses. Intakes into health courses are up about a hundred up on last year – graduates in both areas provide direct benefit to rural and regional NSW ”, said Director of CSU’s Office of Planning and Audit, Col Sharp. At Bathurst Campus, places in the journalism, policing and criminal justice studies were highly sought-after. “Many students are opting for double degrees, to provide that extra edge in the employment market,” Mr Sharp said. These include sports studies/journalism, nursing/paramedic studies and psychology/teaching.

An outreach program run by Charles Sturt University (CSU) for Indigenous recruits will be proposed by NSW Police. This follows a recommendation from the NSW Ombudsman’s report into Aboriginal policing throughout rural NSW. The proposal has enthusiastic support from the Goulburn Police College as well as significant support from within the Aboriginal community. Regional Commander for the Western Region based at Dubbo, Steve Bradshaw, says Indigenous recruits often find it difficult training at Goulburn because they are so far away from their homes in western NSW. “The recommendation by the Ombudsman suggests that we do some of the police training in an institute close to where the Aboriginal communities are. CSU currently has the contract to conduct police training, and has a campus at Dubbo in the NSW central west, so it seems obvious to approach CSU to develop an outreach program. It has my total support,” he said. CSU Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers says the University welcomes the proposal. “We look forward to working with NSW Police to strengthen Indigenous recruitment,” he said.