Several hundred Charles Sturt University (CSU) undergraduate and postgraduate students will receive their testamurs at a Faculty of Arts graduation ceremony for policing and related disciplines on Wednesday 8 May. More than 600 graduates from the CSU School of Policing in Goulburn, and 33 postgraduate students from the CSU Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security in Manly and Canberra will attend the ceremony. Head of the CSU Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security, Associate Professor Nick O’Brien, said, “In an era of continued threats to society and increasing capacity among criminals, we need a sophisticated policing, security and emergency management workforce to combat crime and protect our communities. Charles Sturt University is proud to make a significant contribution to the education and training of personnel who will serve with dedication and courage, and this graduation ceremony is an occasion for pride and celebration.”

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.

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.

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.

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."

A group of 21 Charles Sturt University (CSU) MBA students has received a first hand account of the European business environment through a joint program with the University of Applied Sciences, Berne , in . Through a combination of classes taught by academics and business practitioners, as well as visits to world leading organisations in and , the subject Doing Business in Europe offers MBA students at the University the opportunity to experience the challenges and practicalities of conducting business in Europe. The two-week trip to in August included visits to the headquarters of Roche Pharmaceuticals, Credit Suisse, and Daimler Chrysler. “It is vital that MBA programs include the opportunity for students to experience the dynamics of other industries, and an insight into other cultures,” said CSU’s Professor Mark Farrell. 

A new journal to promote excellence in teaching, foster research and contribute to ongoing development of education of accounting professionals has been unveiled by Charles Sturt University (CSU). The bi-annual Australian Journal of Accounting Education (AJAE) is published by the University’s (CSU) Faculty of Commerce with sponsorship from CPA Australia. “There are only three other journals focusing in this area and they are based in the USA and UK,” said Editor and CSU senior lecturer Jenny Kent. “As the first journal of its kind in Australia-Asian region, this publication provides an important publishing opportunity for accounting academics interested in researching the scholarship of learning and teaching in accounting,” she added.

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.

More than 500 policing students will graduate from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Policing Studies and the Australian Graduate School of Policing this Friday, 28 October. The ceremony will begin at 10.30am at the Sports Centre, Sydney Olympic Park and will feature an occasional address by Mr Kevin Kitson, Director of Intelligence with the Australian Crime Commission. A highlight of the ceremony will be the graduation of fire investigation students – the result of a successful collaboration between NSW Fire Brigades and CSU. New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney, will present the Diploma of Policing Practice graduates with their awards and five prize winners will be announced.