The publication of the play A Terrible Beauty, by Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer Mr Ray Harding, will be launched at the Ubud Writers’ Festival in Bali on 27 September 2007. A Terrible Beauty deals with the October 2002 Bali Bombing which claimed more than 200 lives, 88 of them Australian. "It's wonderful that this publication can be launched in Bali, near the site of the tragedy that this work reflects upon," Mr Harding said. "It's a celebration of the triumph of hope and goodwill which many of us didn't think would be possible a few years ago." This is Mr Harding's fifth play and it had its world premiere performance at Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre in June 2006. The play's publication launch will be accompanied by a performance of the play by an all-Indonesian cast. The launch will be officiated by Finley Smith, organizer of the writers' festival, together with former senior CSU theatre lecturer, Bill Blaikie and Kersena Dewanto, the festival's artistic director.

Charles Sturt University will be represented in the new system to assess where Federal Government research dollars should be spent in 2008. Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research) at CSU, Professor Paul Burnett will chair one of the 13 assessment panels for the Research Quality Framework. The panels will assess the research applications submitted by higher education providers and will award a rating for quality and impact. As Head of the University's Centre for Research and Graduate Training and being responsible for the administration of research and research training at CSU, Professor Burnett will head the Psychology, Psychiatry, Neurological, Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences panel. With five degrees, Professor Burnett is a counsellor, counselling psychologist and educational and developmental psychologist.

Around 110 education researchers and educators from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will gather on the University's Dubbo Campus for the first time between Wednesday 26 and Friday 28 September. Ms Tracey Simpson, Associate Head of the School of Teach Education at Dubbo and host of the forum, said the forum is usually held every two years. "The forum is for all members of CSU's Faculty of Education to reflect on progress, discuss future plans and evaluate how the Faculty fits into the progress of the University,” she said. The major issues for discussion include teaching and learning for the University's new Indigenous Education Strategy, course changes, flexible teaching and learning approaches and research. There will be a performance by the boys dance group from Buninyong Public School, and forum participants will attend the Croc Festival Community Performance on Wednesday evening 26 September 2007.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) 2006 television production graduates Luke Heywood and Tim Pass are ecstatic with the news that their production Chance Your Hand will be screened at the 2007 New York Television Festival Independent Pilot Competition. Chance Your Hand, a situation comedy showing the behind the scenes drama of a television game show, was a major project during the students’ third year studies. Produced at the CSU School of Visual and Performing Arts studios at the Wagga Wagga Campus in inland NSW, Chance Your Hand is one of only three productions selected from outside the United States. CSU Associate Lecturer Patrick Sproule says, “this is a major accolade for the both the course and the students, showcasing just how capable, creative and talented our television, acting and theatre design graduates are”. Luke and Tim will travel to New York to attend the festival from 5 – 9 September and hope to meet network executives to further their television careers.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is reaching out to students in distant and remote locations through the growing education resource of podcasting, the broadcast of audio files across the internet. CSU School of Computing and Mathematics lecturer Anthony Chan says: “Podcasting is now happening in CSU biomedical sciences, accounting, information technology, food and wine sciences and commercial radio and management courses. Podcasts are provided to students before and after classes and include interviews with experts from around the world”. An international collaborative project between CSU and USA’s Bentley College allows students in a first year computing subject to learn from each other and another lecturer half way round the world. The School of Computing and Mathematics also uses podcasting with a local Wagga Wagga high school, with their work in Japanese learning and teaching featured on Japanese television. Studies within CSU have shown that podcasting reduces the effects of isolation and promotes inclusiveness. Surveys with CSU undergraduate students also show podcasting reduces their stress levels, especially students who are coming into a higher education environment for the first time.

The Interactive Learning Centre (ILC) on the Dubbo Campus of Charles Sturt University (CSU) is the venue for the twentieth annual Western Districts National Exhibition of Photography. Ms Lorna White, the co-coordinator of the photography competition and exhibition, says that approximately 1000 entries were received from 105 amateur photographers from around Australia for the five categories – Open Colour, Open Monochrome, Nature, People, and Photojournalism. “The subjects of the photographs were varied and the standard was very high,” Ms White said. “Judging took place in June, and we have selected about 110 framed photographs to display.” The exhibition is open to the public this coming weekend, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 July, and is easily accessed through the CSU main entrance.

An innovative experimental winery is set to enhance Australia’s reputation for producing a quality product from the fruit of the vine. The new winery, to be launched on Tuesday 30 January, will be built next to the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre on Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Wagga Wagga Campus, the result of a partnership between CSU, NSW Wine Industry Association and NSW Department of Primary Industries. Director of the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, CSU’s Professor Geoff Scollary says “This year 120 different wines will be produced at the CSU Winery. The expansion will allow production to increase to 150 for the 2008 vintage and provide grape growers and wine producers with strong scientific and practical information to ensure the Australian wine industry remains sustainable and profitable”. Professor Scollary believes the expansion “will further establish CSU as one of the nation’s leading wine extension and research centres”.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU’s) emphasis on professional experience as an integral part of CSU courses is being put into practice in the University’s Careers Service – with practical success. This year for the first time, CSU’s Careers Service offered two paid, internships for final-year students to give them valuable work experience opportunities. Final-year Bachelor of Commerce student, Casandra Barnes, of Cumnock, NSW, has just completed her six-month internship as a marketing assistant in the CSU Careers Service and begins her first career job with Liverpool Plains Shire Council based in Quirindi this week. “The hands-on experience working at the Careers Service was fantastic and taught me so much about what’s involved in a professional job,” Casandra said. “I’m sure it made the difference when I applied for my first professional position.” During her internship Casandra was responsible for marketing the Careers Service to first-year students; coordinating and promoting careers events; running online student forums and producing an online careers newsletter. Casandra, 23, starts her new job as a Community Economic Development Officer with the Liverpool Plains Shire Council in Quirindi this week. She will complete her final two subjects towards her degree by distance education. Paul Worsfold, Senior Career Development Officer with the Careers Service said practicum experience was a high priority for CSU as it strives to be a national leader in producing ‘job ready’ graduates. “The Careers Service understands the importance of professional experience which is why it promotes vacation work opportunities to students. We are also seeking to involve students who want complementary work experiences and career development activities outside of formal teaching requirements,” Mr Worsfold said.

The lack of doctors and dentists in rural areas has often overshadowed the fact that regional hospitals also desperately need Registered Nurses. To help overcome this shortage, Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Greater Southern and Western Area Health Services have collaborated in creating workshops and outreach programs aimed at encouraging and supporting Enrolled Nurses to upgrade their skills through study to become registered nurses. Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Health Science at CSU, Heather Latham who has been involved in the workshops since they began in Dubbo in 2003, says enrolled nurses who attend the workshops come away with a greater understanding of what will be required of them to succeed at university. “Some are unsure, others are unrealistically confident and others have been out of school for a long time and need assistance to develop their literacy skills.”  Enrolled nurses who have been chosen to participate in the program by the Area Health Service do not have to travel to residential schools at Bathurst CSU because Ms Latham and her colleagues take the residential schools to them. Some of the first attendees at the workshops are now almost ready to graduate. “We are confident they will go back to their local community and get jobs. It is work we feel passionate about because we see the importance of supporting people in rural and regional areas who are educationally disadvantaged,” Ms Latham said.