Charles Sturt University (CSU) Professor of Applied Ecology Geoff Gurr will address one of the world’s most urgent challenges when he delivers the Poggendorff Lecture for 2013 as part of National Science Week. The biennial lecture is an initiative of the Royal Society of NSW in honour of Walter Hans George Poggendorff, the eminent Australian agriculturalist and member of the society, and covers agriculture in a broad sense. Professor Gurr, from CSU in Orange, will address the topic ‘Biodiversity and the future of agriculture’. “One of the greatest challenges the world is facing right now is how we plan to feed the estimated population of 9 billion by 2050,” he said. “Not only do we have to meet that challenge, we have to do it in the face of declining availability of good-quality land and water, and the need to preserve biodiversity to provide critical ecosystem services.” Professor Gurr will draw on his international research program to explain how biodiversity can be harnessed to provide effective pest suppression and illustrate how on-farm biodiversity can advantage growers and the wider community.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Goulburn has taken a huge stride in developing its infrastructure at the NSW Police Academy by laying five kilometres of fibre optic cable to connect the campus to the main Sydney-Melbourne fibre optic trunk. The cable, which cost $600 000 to install, now provides a network connection of one Gigabyte per second, which is more than 100 times greater capacity than the technology it replaced. As CSU owns the cable, it will be able to increase the capacity in the future at a reasonable cost.

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.

New students to Charles Sturt University (CSU) wanting to apply for scholarships for the coming year will need to get their applications in before Monday 18 February. The scholarships, which are offered through the Charles Sturt Foundation, are awarded to students who have demonstrated high levels of academic performance, leadership and motivation throughout their school careers. Some scholarships are also available for students undergoing economic hardship, are disadvantaged, are Indigenous or are undertaking distance education with CSU. In 2007, the Foundation provided 235 students with ongoing support for their University studies through the scholarship program.

A program to advance Charles Sturt University (CSU) as a leader in higher education teaching and learning will be launched in Bathurst on Tuesday 17 September. CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Garry Marchant, said, “Given the ongoing growth of student numbers and evolution of the higher education sector due to theoretical and technological developments, the launch of ‘Smart Learning’ will enable a stronger professionalised teaching focus to improve student engagement and maintain high-quality teaching standards at the University. With the implementation of Smart Learning, Charles Sturt University will lead the way in higher education learning and teaching innovation.” Information about Smart Learning and the next steps in establishing this program will be presented at the launch at The Grange, CSU in Bathurst at 3pm on Tuesday 17 September.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will next year celebrate 20 years of strategic higher education and applied research that is making a difference nationally and internationally. Celebrations involving students, staff, academics, graduates and the University’s research partners and institutions will be held at all campuses. CSU is extending a warm invitation to all communities in its footprint to become involved in the celebrations that will highlight its rapid growth and achievements during the past two decades. The first meeting of the 20th Anniversary Committee, chaired by CSU Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Ian Goulter, was held on Wednesday 25 June, to commence planning for what is a significant year in the history of the University of inland Australia. Proclaimed in July 1989, CSU has evolved as one of Australia's largest universities, operating across inland New South Wales and delivering education and degree qualifications in many countries around the world.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is making recruiting potential officers from all sectors of the community to the NSW Police Force (NSWPF) a little easier with the donation of a high profile vehicle. The eye-catching Holden Rodeo will be used by the NSWPF Recruitment Branch as a mobile advertising tool. It will be formally presented to NSWPF by CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Ross Chambers, during a ceremony to swear in the latest probationary constables at the NSW Police College in Goulburn on Friday 29 August. CSU, together with NSWPF, delivers the Associate Degree in Policing Practice, which is the recruit training program for people wanting to join the NSW Police Force. The vehicle will be driven state-wide for career markets, expos and displays. “CSU is delighted to deliver this vehicle to the NSWPF as a symbol of our long-standing and important relationship to educate and train police officers for NSW,” said Professor Chambers. General Manager of NSWPF Recruitment Branch, Inspector Tony Malone, said they wanted a vehicle that would turn heads. “We want to draw attention to NSWPF Recruitment and to our contact details. The Rodeo is proving to be a great marketing tool."

The heads of intelligence agencies gathered in the New Zealand (NZ) capital of Wellington in August to hear from guest speaker and Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic Mr Patrick Walsh. Over 150 intelligence officers attended the inaugural conference of the New Zealand Institute of Intelligence Professionals. Mr Walsh, who addressed the intelligence officers after the conference was opened by NZ Prime Minister The Hon. Helen Clark, is a senior lecturer in criminal intelligence at CSU’s Australian Graduate School of Policing (AGSP) based in Manly, Sydney. He is also the course co-ordinator for the University’s intelligence program and  a vice-president of the Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers (AIPIO). “It was an honour to address this inaugural event,” Mr Walsh said on his return to Australia. “I talked about the history of AIPIO as a professional body for the Australian intelligence community and the role tertiary education can play in collaboration with intelligence agencies in delivering industry-relevant intelligence education programs”

There was loud applause for awarding-winning Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher Associate Professor Gavin Ash as he received public recognition for his work in the fields of agricultural and veterinary sciences and environmental sciences. Professor Ash was named earlier this year the recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence 2007. The CSU academic received his award from the Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter during the graduation ceremonies on the Wagga Wagga Campus in April. Professor Ash, from the CSU School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, was honoured for his outstanding contribution to innovative research in plant pathology, identifying and determining the risk posed by diseases in crops and exploring innovative approaches to the management of diseases and weeds. Since joining CSU at Wagga Wagga in 1990, Professor Ash has attracted more than $4.2 million in research funds, written for over 150 publications and supervised 38 postgraduate students. In the last five years Professor Ash has authored 27 refereed publications and gained 27 research grants.