The environment at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo has been assessed as healthy and improving, with details to be made public at an event at the University on Monday 23 September. Head of Campus at CSU in Dubbo, Dr Bev Moriarty, said she is pleased with the outcome of the assessment, which was conducted at all CSU campuses as part of the strategy to reduce energy consumption and waste, and enhance the University’s sustainability. “Despite the continuing growth of the campus in Dubbo, we have reduced water, electricity and gas consumption relative to 2006 when the first data was recorded,” Dr Moriarty said. “A separate consultant’s assessment by FloraSearch undertaken earlier this year details flora and fauna species present on the campus. It includes recommendations to control foxes and feral cats in the wider neighbourhood, which might be targeted by relevant authorities in the future.” The CSU Environmental Scorecard will be launched at 12.45pm on Monday 16 September and will be followed by a barbeque at 1 pm.

Three Charles Sturt University (CSU) students with the School of Animal Science and Veterinary Science are making last minute preparations as they head off to the United States for international meat judging competitions and a meat industry study tour. In 2012, Mr Isaac Allen from Forbes, Ms Vanessa Campbell from Rutherglen, who is currently living and working in Wagga Wagga, and Ms Jordon Hoban from near Macksville in Northern NSW were named in the five-member Australian team to compete in two meat judging competitions in the USA. It follows their success last July at the Australian Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) and at a subsequent intensive Meat & Livestock Australia training program in Brisbane. The team is due to leave Australia for a three-week industry tour of the USA on Friday 11 January and return on Thursday 7 February. Ms Campbell said the trio is all very excited about the trip. “This is a really great opportunity because, as a fourth year vet science student, it gives me a chance to make international meat industry contacts and to see the industry differences between America and the way we do things back home,” she said.

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.

Fifteen nursing students who have completed a three-year degree at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo will be farewelled by staff at a special luncheon at the University on Tuesday 15 October. They are among a cohort of 207 nursing students from across the CSU School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health who will graduate at the end of this semester, and who are now are eligible to register with the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority. Ms Lyn Croxon, program leader for the Bachelor of Nursing in the CSU School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, said, “The students have just returned to the campus after eight weeks of placement, four weeks of which focused on the transition to practice as a Registered Nurse. They received invaluable support from the staff in the various hospitals in which they undertook the clinical placement. Clinical practice is an integral and valuable component of the course, preparing our future nurses for the workplace, and the University thanks the regional health services for their support of our programs.” The students come from Dubbo and the surrounding regional towns of Gilgandra, Cobar, Narromine, Parkes and Narrabri. The majority of graduates will accept positions as Registered Nurses with the Western NSW Local Health Network, while some individuals have been offered positions in Newcastle, Wollongong and Gosford.

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.

The latest debate on climate change and bushfires is “the discussion the Australian community has to have”, a senior CSU ecologist says. Associate Professor David Watson with the University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society said the latest debate is a timely reminder of the importance of extreme weather events in Australia. “Recent reports have shown climate change is real and is linked to increasing extremes in weather such as droughts and dry periods, which will increase the chance of bushfires,” said Professor Watson. “Increasing incidences of floods and cyclones are also more likely with climate change, so we as a nation need to consider how we are going to address this. We need to plan for both short-term responses and longer term planning of our cities and settlements across Australia and the various landscapes that will be affected. This is not a political issue — in 2006, then Prime Minister John Howard linked human-induced climate change with increased bushfire risk.  Insurers, agronomists and many other industries are already planning for increases in bushfires, severe storms and other extreme events, so it seems incongruous that the federal government is not being more pro-active.  We cannot afford to sit back and just let climate change happen with doing something about it,” he said.

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.

A leading telecommunications analyst heads the speakers list at a free seminar to be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Monday 31 October. Examining a critical issue for regional Australia, Paul Budde, Managing Director of BuddeComm, will draw on his company’s research to discuss the future of regional telecommunications from 9.25am to 10.25am in the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre near the CSU Winery, Wagga Wagga. His address will be followed by a roundtable discussion led by an expert panel including Dean of the University’s Faculty of Science and Agriculture, Professor Jim Pratley, Executive Director of the CSU Division of Information Technology, Mike Rebbechi and Managing Director of the Commercial Response Unit in Wagga Wagga, Gary Wells. The seminar will be held from 9.15am to 12noon and will cover a range of topics including the sale of Telstra, the $2 billion Regional Telecommunications Fund, broadband and new business opportunities as well as developments in telecommunications.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU)Communication student has won "Best Talk Presenter" at the prestigious Australian Commercial Radio Awards. Latika Bourke, a Broadcast student who is expected to graduate in 2006, also won the "Brian White Memorial Journalism Award" for her feature piece “21 Health Jobs Saved”. Ms Bourke has been hosting the 2BS Morning Wireless Program since December last year. Her 2BS Gold and BRock FM colleague, Chris Baskerville, a CSU Communication graduate, won the "Matt Ellis Encouragement Award for Best Newcomer On-Air". The gala event was held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Saturday 15 October and recognised excellence across all aspects of commercial radio broadcasting at metropolitan, regional and provincial commercial radio stations.