Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo will participate in a simulated car crash rescue organised by health promotion services at CSU for Drug and Alcohol Awareness Month. Police, ambulance, and fire and rescue crews will be on hand to free student actors 'trapped' in the car to demonstrate how occupants are cut out of the wreckage following a crash. Health promotion officer Ms Kirsten Bourke said the re-enactment was made to be as realistic as possible. “We've got students as actors and it’s as though they have actually been in a drink driving crash,” Miss Bourke said. “We are really trying to drive home the message that you need a plan B to get home and if you are going to go out and decide to drink and drive, this could very well be the outcome. Re-enactments have already taken place at CSU in Orange and Dubbo, and Ms Bourke said the month’s focus was on raising awareness of drink driving through events including health promotion bar nights, drug awareness movie nights, and Australia’s biggest morning tea.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is making up to $150 000 available for staff and student projects to help the University reduce its environmental footprint. Sustainability Grants are awarded by CSU Green annually as part of  the University’s commitment to reduce energy and water use, increase biodiversity, cut solid waste, and support research into sustainability. An extra $50 000 is being made available this year for one large project to help the University reach its sustainability goals. Co-ordinator of Partnerships with CSU Green, Ms Nicola Smith, said the program aims to educate and promote cultural change. “Applications for the grants have increased each year with more exciting and engaging projects,” she said. “It has increased the knowledge of environmental and social sustainability issues as well as providing an outlet for staff and students to develop social and professional networks.” Past projects include a student and community-run produce garden, a sustainable film festival and a project to increase good waste management practises within student residences. Applications are open until 5pm on Friday 28 June.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will celebrate its connection with the Dubbo community on Thursday 18 July with a series of flags that will be unfurled along Macquarie Street in the town centre. The flags will encourage the Western Plains residents of NSW to ‘Discover your true potential’ and revolve around the theme it’s time to live, learn and grow with CSU. Head of Campus at CSU in Dubbo, Dr Beverley Moriarty said the University had established a strong relationship with the Dubbo community over the past 20 years. “Charles Sturt University has been pleased to be a part of such a strong and vibrant community for almost two decades now, and the flags are our way of saying ‘we look forward to continuing that journey together’,” she said. Dr Moriarty and Dubbo Mayor Mr Mathew Dickerson will attend an official launch of the flags 11am on Thursday 18 July at the Rotunda, Macquarie Street, Dubbo.

Twenty Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga will receive scholarships worth more than $100 000 from the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS) Foundation during a ceremony on Thursday 18 July. The RAS Foundation awarded 49 Rural Scholarships in 2013 – a record number – with recipients coming from various educational institutions across NSW. The CSU students are studying a range of courses including agricultural science, agricultural business management, education, equine science, journalism, medical radiation science, physiotherapy and veterinary science. RAS Foundation Rural Scholarships support students who are undertaking post-high school study or training, show a passion for rural issues and who are committed to playing a part in shaping the future of rural and regional NSW. The ceremony will be held on Thursday 18 July from 6pm to 8.30pm at the National Wine and Grape Centre, building 412, McKeown Drive, CSU in Wagga Wagga.

A key Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher has been returned to the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GDRC) Southern Regional Panel for the next two years. Associate Professor of Food Science Chris Blanchard from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga is the Deputy Chair of the Panel. The CSU academic is one of 11 members appointed until 2015. The Regional Panels link the Corporation with growers, researchers, scientists, agribusiness and grower groups. Southern Regional Panel Chair, Mr Keith Pengilley, described the Panels as, “very important in ensuring grower concerns, ideas and priorities are fed into GRDC”. Associate Professor Blanchard is also a member of the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation - an alliance between CSU and NSW DPI.

Resources collated in a national education project, to be launched in Canberra on Wednesday 26 October, will provide a major boost for early childhood education students says Professor Sue Dockett, project team leader from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Murray School of Education. “Funding for the Early Childhood Education Workforce Project was available for only a limited time, so it has been really important that the outcomes of this project are sustainable. Although funding for the collaboration will finish, the resources will have a life of their own. They will have an influence far beyond the life of the project and will be freely available across the country. Regional and remote communities, in particular, will benefit in lots of ways. The studying teachers are working in communities where there aren’t many educators and they should feel valued and important. This project recognises the value quality educators give to a community. They can upgrade their qualifications and stay within their chosen community It’s a chance to look at career options without necessarily having to change location, so quality education is accessible and the profession is gaining and retaining the best qualified educators.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will hold Wellness and Wellbeing Expos at its five main campuses, starting in Bathurst on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 February, to promote happier, healthier, more satisfied and more productive employees who are also resilient in an ever-changing workplace. Mr David Tallentire, CSU manager of occupational health and safety, said, “Charles Sturt University recognises and values the importance of staff wellness and wellbeing, and aims to adopt a holistic approach to the treatment of workplace health and safety. The University appreciates that personal problems can adversely affect employees’ work performance, work satisfaction, health, and feelings of wellbeing. We’re running Wellness and Wellbeing Expos to provide information to staff on the many health and wellbeing services available to them at Charles Sturt University and in our local communities, and to participate in workshops.” The Wellness and Wellbeing Expos will be held at CSU in Bathurst on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 February; at CSU in Orange on Thursday 7 February; at CSU in Dubbo on Friday 8 February; at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Monday 11 and Tuesday 12 February; and at CSU in Albury-Wodonga on Thursday 14 February.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is encouraging students to pack their bags to work, travel and study overseas as part of their university degree. Representatives of CSU Global, an initiative to help students to take up international study experiences, will meet with staff and students in Albury-Wodonga, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga over the next week. Manager of CSU Global Dr Shevahn Telfser said students can undertake international exchanges, short term study programs and practical placements. “In 2012 more than 340 Charles Sturt University students included an international experience as part of their degree and so far more than 250 students have travelled overseas this year,” she said. “This expands their horizons, builds contacts and gives them a competitive edge in the job market.” CSU aims to have 18 per cent or more than 700 undergraduate students undertake international study experiences by 2016.

Agricultural science students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) have again excelled at the Australian University Crops Competition held in Temora in September with two students named in the competition’s top five. An initiative of Grain Gowers Limited, the third annual competition was held from Thursday 8 to Sunday 11 September. The event, covering grains, pulses and oilseeds, involved students from six Australian universities. Two members of the CSU team, Ms Ally Dingjan from Wagga Wagga and Ms Candice Robinson from Whitton finished in the top five, ensuring the pair participates in a study tour to New Zealand in 2012. In addition to the individual winners, CSU took out the University Teams Award. Crop agronomy lecturer in the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Dr Sergio Moroni said, “The Charles Sturt University team performed extremely well throughout the competition. The seriousness of the event did not deter them from enjoying themselves. They made me proud.” The students are studying the Bachelor of Agricultural Science at CSU in Wagga Wagga.