The Port Macquarie and Mid North Coast region will field its first-ever team in the annual NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout competition to be held in Newcastle on the October long weekend. The Yapun Yapun team is made up of Mid North Coast residents and sponsored by Charles Sturt University (CSU) Indigenous Student Services. Indigenous Student Support Officer at CSU in Port Macquarie, Ms Helene Jones said the University is delighted to support the team in contesting the 43rd running of the competition. “This is a fantastic opportunity to support community  mentors to become leaders; highlighting the relationships between sports, community, family and education,” she said. “Through delivery of Higher Education courses and community engagement programs, Charles Sturt University looks for opportunities to promote social equality and the recognition of Aboriginals as leaders in our community. Charles Sturt University is committed to working with Indigenous people in our communities to close the gap and serve the local community.  As the first team from the area to compete in this competition, there is plenty of local interest and support." 

Two high-level meetings this week will help advance the development of Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie. The Structural Adjustment Fund (SAF) Governance Committee meeting is being held at CSU in Port Macquarie on Tuesday 23 October. This is a joint management committee of CSU and North Coast TAFE. The Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, Professor Andrew Vann, will then attend the inaugural meeting of the local campus’ Regional Consultative Committee on Wednesday 24 October. “The convening of this Committee is an important step in the establishment of a new Charles Sturt University campus,” Professor Vann said. “Regional Consultative Committees provide the University with strategic advice on the needs and expectations of our communities, and provide a way for the University to communicate through its members to industry, employers, government and the community. It will be great to tap into the thinking of local community leaders about their vision for CSU in Port Macquarie.” Later in the week, the Regional Development Australia (RDA) Strategic Regional Leadership Conference, co-sponsored by CSU, will be held at The Glasshouse in Port Macquarie on Friday 26 October. Read more on CSU News here.

The expansion of courses available at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) newest campus in Port Macquarie in 2013 will be detailed at a special Information Day on Thursday 23 August.  Four information sessions will be held throughout the day at 27 Grant Street, Port Macquarie from 10am to 8pm. Open to the community, the event will highlight the four new CSU undergraduate degrees available for full-time study, on campus on the Mid North Coast. These include Bachelor degrees in business, paramedics, policing and medical imaging. Read more on course expansion at Port Macquarie on CSU News here. Campus Director in Port Macquarie Dr Muyesser Durur said,” These undergraduate degrees available from 2013 are in addition to the four courses now available in Port Macquarie in conjunction with North Coast TAFE including accounting, creative industries, social work, and health and rehabilitation science. Our lecturers will be on hand throughout the day to talk about our range of courses and where they can lead in terms of employment. Information about the academic and non-academic support available from Charles Sturt University for new students will also be available during the event.” You can register online for one of the four Information Day sessions here or telephone 1800 334 733. Information Day sessions on Thursday 23 August will be held from 10am to 11am; 11am to 12noon; 1pm to 2pm; and 6pm to 8pm.

Science at Charles Sturt University (CSU) and its innovations in teaching and research will be on show to the Mid-North Coast community on Monday 23 April in a presentation by the Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Science, Professor Nick Klomp. “The Faculty of Science is one of the largest and most diverse science faculties in Australasia, with around 9 000 students and hundreds of staff in seven schools across six campuses. We teach and conduct research in a variety of science and health disciplines from veterinary science to dentistry, nursing to environmental studies, forensic biotechnology to wine science, agriculture to allied health. I will also speak about CSU’s bid for a medical school,” said Professor Klomp, who is also a renowned science broadcaster. Teachers, students, industry representatives, and the general public will receive information about courses leading to science careers, current and future research collaborations, and professional training in the University’s multi-million dollar research and training facilities and clinics.

The Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Andrew Vann, will host the 2013 Alumni and Community Cocktail Reception at the University in Port Macquarie on Monday 25 November. Dr Muyesser Durur, campus director of CSU in Port Macquarie, said, “This is becoming a wonderful annual event for our new campus and the University’s many alumni who live in the region. There are nearly 700 former graduates from all faculties and campuses who live on the Mid North Coast, so it is a great opportunity for them to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and consolidate and extend their professional and social networks. The event is also an opportunity for the University to acknowledge and thank the many people from the business, education and local government sectors and the wider Mid North Coast community who have been so supportive of the University in its first two years of operation. It has been a very dynamic period. The community has really embraced Charles Sturt University, which I believe has been in no small part due to the passion of the staff here and the commitment by everyone involved to share in our journey to contribute to the growth and wellbeing of the region.” The guest speaker at the event will be CSU alumnus and psychologist Mr John Nolan who has a practice in Port Macquarie.

The head of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security, Associate Professor Nick O’Brien, will deliver a public lecture in Port Macquarie titled Terrorism and Australia: Risk and prevention, including the role of financing in terrorism. The lecture, at the Glasshouse on Wednesday 23 October, is the fourth in a series which has brought speakers from a range of disciplines to share the latest ideas, thinking and opinions on contemporary social, scientific and cultural issues with the Port Macquarie community. Professor O’Brien joined CSU after a distinguished career in policing, including roles as Commander of the international counterterrorism group in Special Branch at New Scotland Yard. CSU Port Macquarie Campus Director Dr Muyesser Durur said the community response to the lecture series had been very encouraging. “The community has really embraced this concept,” she said. “Part of Charles Sturt University’s role on the Mid North Coast is to bring the latest ideas from the University’s areas of research directly to the community and this lecture series has demonstrated that’s something our community is very interested in.” 

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has invited interested stakeholders from the Port Macquarie community to attend a Student Accommodation workshop on Wednesday 9 October. The workshop will explore options for the development of student accommodation to service the new campus being built by CSU in Port Macquarie. Construction will begin in 2014, and the new campus is expected to be ready for occupation by late 2015. Campus Director Dr Muyesser Durur said the workshop was an opportunity for CSU to ensure the development of student accommodation met the needs of the community and the University. “The community has welcomed Charles Sturt University into the area and has been very supportive throughout the planning stages for the new campus,” she   said. “This workshop is continuing the discussion, and ensuring any student accommodation is developed to benefit the University and the community.”

The second cohort of Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from Port Macquarie will celebrate their graduation during ceremonies at The Glasshouse on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20 December.Highlights of the ceremonies include:3pm Monday 19 December 201680 students from the Faculty of Arts and Education and the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Studies will be awarded a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.Ms Anna Wilson and Ms Danae Weaver will both be awarded Bachelors of Social Work and will receive the Lila Kirilik Social Action Memorial Prize, awarded to students from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences for demonstrated merit in a professional field and achieving a social action outcome that benefits disadvantaged individuals and communities.Mr Richard Rogers will be awarded a Bachelor of Social Science (Criminal Justice) and in 2017 will begin be studying the Associate Degree in Policing Practice at the NSW Police Academy in Goulburn as a stepping stone to joining the NSW Police Force.The occasional address will be delivered by Ms Kate Wood-Foye, Mid North Coast local, Area Director of Sales and Marketing for Rydges Group and regular columnist for Focus Magazine. Ms Wood-Foye is also the Co-Founder and Chair and Events Manager of the national youth leadership event 'Luminosity Youth Summit' which is held in Port Macquarie and provides young people the opportunity to be inspired and excel in their chosen careers through 'dangerous ideas' for success.9:30am Tuesday 20 December 201680 students from the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Studies will be awarded a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.Lecturer at CSU's School of Biomedical Sciences, Dr Jennifer Cox will be awarded her PhD, Australian Nursing Students' Infection Control Knowledge and Perceptions: Exploring the Role of Microbiology Education and Clinical Placement Experiences. Infections acquired while in hospital are a major cause of patient death across the globe and Dr Cox's research has provided new insight into the role of microbiology education and the influence of clinical placement experience on nursing students' infection control practice. Read more about her research here.Ms Hannah Stack will be awarded a Bachelor of Clinical Practice (Paramedic). Earlier this year Ms Stack was awarded the John Overton Award from peak professional body, the Australian and New Zealand College of Paramedicine (ANZCP). Read more on CSU News here.Ms Erika Williamson and Mr Nathan Ross will also be awarded Bachelors of Clinical Practice (Paramedic) and in 2017 will both be travelling to London to take up positions with the London Ambulance Service.Mrs Amanda Hammond will be awarded a Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science (Medical Imaging). She has recently accepted a permanent position as a radiographer at Port Macquarie X-Ray.The occasional address will be delivered by Mr Stewart Dowrick, Chief Executive Officer of Mid North Coast Local Health District and Board Committee Member of Regional Development Australia – Mid North Coast.

Two staff members at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie received awards from the University recently. The 2013 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence, and the 2013 Faculty and Division Awards, acknowledge the commitment, dedication and ongoing excellence demonstrated by academic and general staff across CSU. Ms Nicole Mitchell, academic support coordinator at CSU in Port Macquarie, was a member of two teams that were honoured: the TAFE to CSU Interact Site Project Team received a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Innovation; and the Regional and Remote Learning Support Team received a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Performance Excellence. Senior lecturer in paramedics, Mr Joe Acker, received an individual excellence award from the CSU Faculty of Science  for his teaching of the discipline and helping to establish the course at CSU in Port Macquarie. Dr Muyesser Durur, Director of CSU in Port Macquarie, said, “I congratulate Nicole and Joe, as these awards recognise that our staff in Port Macquarie are making significant contributions to the development of the University and to our students’ career prospects. As the campus grows, we look forward to welcoming more staff contributions to the wider community.”