The Remote Telescope at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst has a full calendar of observation events plotted for the UNESCO 2009 International Year of Astronomy, which celebrates 400 years since Galileo first turned a telescope to view the night sky. The initiator and administrator of the CSU telescope, Associate Professor David McKinnon at the CSU School of Teacher Education says that images of the southern night sky through the telescope can be seen via the Internet, weather permitting, around themes that depend on which celestial objects are visible at that time. “The observation calendar centres on special events such as the particular phases of the Moon and planets, as well as requests that are lodged via the Remote Telescope website,” Professor McKinnon said. “This year is a wonderful opportunity for school students and anyone interested in astronomy to access the telescope and website to see planets and other objects as they may never have seen them before.”

An executive with over 25 years experience in the Australian advertising industry says she understands why Charles Sturt University (CSU) advertising and advertising/marketing graduates are so highly sought by the industry. Ms Anne Llewellynn has joined the CSU School of Communication at Bathurst as lecturer in advertising after a career as a senior account director for major agencies including McCann-Erickson, MDO (Mojo) and DDB, where her expertise contributed to the success of a range of national and international products and services in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, consumer goods, banking and finance sectors. “Last year I worked with final year students in the School’s advertising agency Kajulu Communications to prepare complete communications recommendations for real clients,” Ms Llewellynn said. “The presentations and the calibre of the work produced by some of these students were industry standard. The students graduating from this School enter the industry with the highest academic qualifications and hands-on industry experience.”

Recent media reports of a dengue fever ‘plague’ in northern Queensland are an overstatement of what periodically occurs in that State, according to a senior Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic and member of the Institute for Land, Water and Society. “I don’t see dengue fever marching south from tropical Australia as a great plague, but rather gradually moving with the fluctuations and movements of climate change over many years,” says Professor Kevin Parton. “My work on Ross River fever, a similarly mosquito-borne disease endemic to parts of southern Australia, shows that the virus is present in humans across NSW – which would surprise many people. It becomes more common in certain weather conditions, hence the appearance of an ‘outbreak’. Sure, take public health precautions such as use insect repellent, fix fly screens and tip out standing water around your house, but some current reports are a little sensationalist.”

New buildings at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Orange and Wagga Wagga are rapidly taking shape as the University prepares to welcome the inaugural students in its new dental and oral health therapy courses in 2009. After receiving hundreds of applications from across Australia and overseas, CSU is preparing to fill 40 places in the Bachelor of Dental Science program starting at Orange and 20 places in the Bachelor of Oral Health (Therapy/Hygiene) program starting at Wagga Wagga. “We are thrilled with the calibre of applicants,” said Associate Professor in Oral Health Barbara Taylor. “The student selection process has been very competitive, particularly for dentistry as it included an online questionnaire and interview.” “We had a diverse and skilled applicant pool and are confident this will result in a committed student group,” added the Head of the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, Professor Ward Massey. Work on the dentistry buildings in Orange and oral health therapy facilities at Wagga continued over Christmas, as well as progress in the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment such as dental chairs and clinical software.

A recently launched NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) Nursing program will see high school students from Orange, Bathurst and Oberon step on Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Orange as enrolled university students this week. The HSC Board Endorsed Nursing Course, in collaboration with the Health e2 Schools, CSU and TAFE, is a link for HSC students interested in pursuing a career in nursing at CSU. “The HSC Nursing program allows Year 12 students to complete two subjects in CSU’s Bachelor of Nursing,” says Susan Bragg from the University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery. “Upon successful completion, students will gain entry to the Bachelor of Nursing and be given credit for the two subjects.”

Communities and regions where mining occurs will be severely affected by the downturn in the Australian mining sector due to the global financial crisis. Mr Tom Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of the Western Research Institute (WRI) at Charles Sturt University at Bathurst, says that with the current contraction of the Chinese economy, the largest customer for Australia’s mineral resources, Australia will face increasing and probably prolonged reduction of revenue from mining. “Our studies indicate that mining jobs create economic multipliers of four to six in surrounding community economies, or more in some instances,” he said. “That means for each mining job lost you can have four to six other jobs lost in a community. This is because mine wages and local spending are so high. Other industries typically have multipliers of around two to three or even less, so mine jobs are very hard to replace.”

Year 12 is a time when most students decide on their path for the future. Everyone wants to be successful and to make the best choices, but accessing the right information at the right time is not always easy. That’s where Charles Sturt University, (CSU) Southern Cross University and the University of New England can help. These universities recognise the importance of helping students select the right study options. That’s why they go direct to local students via the Regional University Road Show. Now in its eighth year, the Regional University Road Show visits 110 schools, sharing information with around 4500 students. As CSU Prospective Student Adviser Ms Katy O’Brien explains, the Regional University Road Show provides senior high school students with accurate and timely information regarding university education. “By pooling resources, CSU, SCU and UNE are able to provide excellent advice to students in one visit, maximising the study options presented to students while minimising the amount of time students need to be away from the classroom.” Orange Christian School Careers Adviser Ms Melissa Brown says the Regional University Road Show is a wonderful opportunity for her students as well as students from other local high schools. “Our students are able to hear from three different universities in the one session which enables them to consider a number of options for future study. Often regional students have difficulty attending university open days, so here the universities come to them. The sessions are very informative and give lots of time for questions about both the study options and the admissions process." Next week, the Regional University Road Show will be in Orange, visiting Orange Christian School, Orange High, Kinross Wolaroi and James Sheahan. Students from Canowindra and Molong will be travelling to Orange host schools to take part in the presentations. In a world of endless possibilities, it’s difficult to determine the best course of action for your future. The Regional University Road Show will help you find a study option to suit you.

A leading Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic will lead a team of researchers contributing to the recently announced five-year, $30 million Australian Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. Professor Allan Curtis, a social researcher with the CSU Institute for Land, Water and Society is well known for his work in natural resource management and rural communities in South Eastern Australia. Professor Curtis says the project aims to improve Australia’s capacity to better manage ground water resources which are threatened by over-extraction and pollution. “While the Centre will examine issues around the sustainable harvesting of groundwater resources, including the interactions between surface and groundwater, there is an important contribution for social research in terms of engaging groundwater users in developing practices that make more effective use of groundwater; and developing innovative arrangements that lead to more sustainable use of groundwater,” he said. The new centre is a partnership of 20 organisations including the Australian Research Council and the National Water Commission, CSIRO and 12 universities. Professor Curtis, along with other CSU researchers including Dr Digby Race and Dr Maureen Rogers, will work to identify projects to be funded over the next six months.

The planned State visit to Australia and to Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Saturday 14 February by His Excellency the President of Timor-Leste, Dr José Ramos-Horta, has been postponed due to the ongoing natural disasters in Australia, including the devastating bushfires in Victoria. The Acting Vice-Chancellor of CSU, Professor Lyn Gorman, said that the University has been advised by representatives of the President that, after consultation with the Office of the Governor-General of Australia, the visit will be postponed to a mutually convenient time later this year. Professor Gorman said, “We fully understand the position of the President and thank him for his wishes for the victims of the Victorian bushfires. We thank the President for his commitment to reschedule his visit later in the year and look forward to welcoming him at that time. Given that this visit was to be the inaugural event of CSU’s 20th anniversary year, the celebrations will now begin with the Official Opening Ceremony at CSU at Wagga Wagga on Thursday 12 March.”