Early childhood education graduates from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo are enjoying very high employment rates, with more than 90 per cent securing employment. The new Head of the School of Teacher Education in Bathurst and Dubbo, Professor Tara Brabazon, attributes the success of these Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) students, who graduated at the end of 2012, to a carefully targeted curriculum. “Employability and achievement do not come out of the air,” she said. “They are the result of an excellent curriculum that is carefully integrated into its context. “I am so proud of and thrilled for our Dubbo Bachelor of Education graduates. To have the overwhelming majority in full-time work is a remarkable accomplishment. “Dubbo can be proud of these graduates.  The School of Teacher Education is proud of these graduates.  The future of regional education is in safe hands.”

At first glance mistletoe might seem to be a destructive weed but Charles Sturt University (CSU) ecologist Associate Professor David Watson will explore the role the parasitic plant plays in promoting biodiversity at a seminar in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 2 May. The National Wine and Grape Industry Centre at CSU in Wagga Wagga will host the seminar titled, Parasitic plants as drivers of ecological communities: patterns, predictions, processes. In his presentation, Professor Watson will pull together a decade of research on mistletoe ecology in southern Australia. “The word parasite has nasty connotations to it but rather than being negative or even neutral, in natural systems parasitic plants may be disproportionately important to biodiversity,” he said. “This may provide land managers with a new tool to boost the value of remnant habitats for wildlife and maximise ecosystem functionality in modified landscapes.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo will celebrate its scholarship and prizes ceremony on Tuesday 8 May, awarding 19 scholarships and 16 awards to students attending CSU in Dubbo. “The calibre of applications for the scholarships is increasing in standard,” said CSU Head of Campus in Dubbo, Dr Beverley Moriarty. “This event is a wonderful opportunity to recognise the hard work students put into their studies and to congratulate those who are achieving their goals. One standout student this year is Ms Helen Hines who is undertaking a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary). She is receiving the Rotary Club of Dubbo scholarship and three academic achievement awards.” CSU students can benefit financially thanks to more than 40 scholarships on offer every year in Dubbo. A large number of these scholarships are funded by individuals or organisations that hold a strong belief in supporting the University and its students.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) students with a passion for sustainability can help the University reduce its environmental footprint as part of a training and internship program. The 2012 CSU Green Steps program  involves a week of intensive training looking at environmental issues, auditing and communication along with project planning and management. Students will then put these skills into practice in an on-campus sustainability project in conjunction with CSU Green. They can also opt to undertake an internship with an external organisation to get valuable workplace experience. Acting Manager of CSU Green Mr Edward Maher said this has benefits for students and the host organisation. “The students are highly motivated and come armed with enthusiasm and hands on training. They are ready to make a real improvement to the sustainability of their host organisation,” he said. “Green Steps also gives students an edge when it comes to commencing their professional careers.”  Students and organisations interested in hosting an intern can contact CSU Green. Green Steps at CSU is a partnership between CSU Green and the Monash Sustainability Institute.

A public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange will shed light on the nature of the trade-offs involved in the proposed transfer of water to the environment in the Murray Darling Basin. Professor Kevin Parton a lecturer and researcher at the CSU School of Marketing and Management, is an expert commentator on the economic and social effects of the water transfer. His presentation is at 6pm Friday 20 April, and he believes there will need to be trade-offs between economic, social and environmental objectives when increasing the flows of water in the Murray-Darling system, which is Australia’s largest river system. “The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has proposed to transfer 2 750 gigalitres per year from irrigation to environmental flows,” he said. “Many farmers consider the costs of even the smallest transfer to be prohibitive, while many conservationists regard anything less than 4 000 gigalitres per year as insufficient to capture any significant environmental benefits.” Professor Parton will consider a number of findings from preliminary research in this controversial topic, including the costs to irrigation farmers, the amounts of environmental water needed, gains for Murray-Darling communities from the plan, and the effects on losers from the plan.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is encouraging schools from across NSW and Victoria to compete in a new online business simulation competition to invigorate student engagement in their business studies. The CSU Faculty of Business is introducing to schools CSU Business - Game On, a ‘virtual’ business competition where Year 11 students form teams and play for the opportunity to win regional prizes of up to $1 000 or the major prize of $2 500. “Participating student teams will engage in the GoVenture Any Business simulation game that is hosted and funded by Charles Sturt University,” explains Dr Abhishek Dwivedi, a lecturer in the School of Management and Marketing. “It allows students to build and operate their own ‘virtual’ business in a simulated market environment.”

The environment will be under the microscope at a free public lecture to be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo on Wednesday 10 August. CSU Adjunct Professor David Mitchell from the School of Environmental Sciences will tackle growing concerns about possibly profound changes in climatic conditions and their potential to undermine many strategies already developed to sustain agriculture for domestic consumption and export. “Australia is not alone in these concerns,” Professor Mitchell says, “but we have the benefits of a relatively low population density, which will help us adjust to changes in a climate that is already highly variable.” Professor Mitchell’s lecture will also discuss water resource management and agricultural sustainability.

A national conference for Australian pharmacy students will be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga in 2012. Members of the University’s student club, Pharmers' Society  won a competitive bid to host the National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association or NAPSA Congress in January 2012. “Our successful bid to host this national event is sweetened by the fact this is the first time the annual NAPSA conference will be held in a regional centre,” fourth year CSU pharmacy student Mr Sean Dodd said. “We are very proud that the event will be held in inland Australia. It is a vote of confidence in those of us that choose to live, study and ultimately pursue our chosen profession in regional Australia to improve health services,” pharmacy student Ms Amy Minett said. “The work has now begun to stage a relevant and cutting edge conference in Wagga Wagga for more than 200 students from 13 universities,” Mr Dodd said. Head of CSU’s School of Biomedical Sciences Associate Professor Lyndall Angel said, “Again the pharmacy students at Charles Sturt University have shone and shown their maturity and dedication to serve rural and regional Australia”. Read more about the NAPSA Congress Wagga Wagga 2012  here.

Winning awards isn’t everything, but for one Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic it’s made all the hard work even more worthwhile. Every year the world’s leading publisher of business and management research, Emerald Group, invites their 200 journal editorial teams to nominate what they believe has been that title’s outstanding paper from the previous 12 months. CSU’s School of Accounting academic, Associate Professor Jayne Bisman’s paper Making the mainstream: An analysis of the scholarly literature on accounting in China 1999-2008 published in Asian Review of Accounting, has been chosen as an Outstanding Paper Award Winner at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2010. Professor Bisman was thrilled with the acknowledgement. “Myself and co-author Weini Liao worked extremely hard on the paper and were proud of the finished product. This award is the icing on the cake.”