Two local graphic design students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) have won a design competition aimed at creating an effective logo for an upcoming youth literary festival to be held in Port Macquarie next year.Mr Michael Jurss and Ms Kseah Cowan are currently completing a Bachelor of Creative Arts & Design (Graphic Design) at CSU in Port Macquarie , and were given the opportunity to participate in a real-life brief for LitFest2444. As a result, they secured a $200 gift voucher and a certificate of acknowledgement.LitFest2444 is the brainchild of St Agnes Parish Schools' teacher librarians, Karen Bale (St Joseph's Regional College) and Suzanne Penson (MacKillop College), who wanted to increase literacy skills, as an employable skill into the future, whilst celebrating up and coming Australian authors of youth literature."The winning design from Michael and Kseah features a lighthouse with a pen nib at the top, radiating light beams in the dark. To us this symbolises the way in which the festival aims to guide local youth towards a future full of hope and prospect, through literature," said Karen Bale.The CSU students teamed up after discovering how their preferred skill areas, in fine arts and digital design, complemented each other. They also credited their study in being able to meet the brief.Mr Jurss said, "Our lecturer was really supportive and opened up the opportunity for us to engage with the competition, to learn about collaborating in a real world situation. This also gave us the chance to strengthen our negotiation skills; important to remember when working for others, as opposed to just expressing yourself creatively. We are certainly excited about seeing the logo on promotional material."The festival has also received funding through the CSU Community-University Partnership (CUP) Program and has assisted in securing high quality speakers and presenters to share their ideas and experiences with local youth.LitFest2444 will be held in May 2017 at MacKillop College and will be open to all secondary students across the Port Macquarie Hastings local government area.

More than 280 students will start their universities studies in Port Macquarie with Orientation Week (O Week) at Charles Sturt University (CSU) next week.O Week will run from Monday 22 February until Friday 26 February and involve a series of academic and social activities to help familiarise students with university study, their course, peers and campus."O Week blends serious and social activities to introduce students from around Australia to their new lives of study and education," Head of Campus Professor Heather Cavanagh said."We have been very pleased to see a 15 per cent increase in the number of undergraduate on campus students studying at CSU in Port Macquarie compared to 2015.  The undergraduate courses in greatest demand for study in 2016 in Port Macquarie are criminal justice, clinical science (paramedic), medical radiation science, teacher education and creative arts and design.""In addition the new Charles Sturt University Port Macquarie campus is due to open later in 2016 and we look forward to increasing our teaching and research capacity as we move to the new 12 hectare site," Professor Cavanagh said.Dean of Students Professor Julia Coyle said, "O Week is a fun, happy and hectic time for all involved – new students, their parents and carers, and our staff – as there is much to learn as students consider their new lives in higher education.""The shift from school to university means students become adult learners. This transition may be difficult for parents who need to shift from strong engagement as a parent of a school student to only being involved in discussion with lecturers if their young adult gives permission," Professor Coyle said.More than 3 000 new on campus undergraduate students will be welcomed across all of CSU for the first session of 2016 starting Monday 29 February. There have also been O Week activities this week for more than 6 700 new CSU Online students who are studying remotely.More information about activities happening at CSU O-week in Port Macquarie is available online www.csu.edu.au/oncampus/events/o-week/on-campus.

The first students enrolled in courses at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie will commence their studies with Orientation Week. Activities start this Thursday 23 February at 4pm with the official welcome to the campus for around 30 new students and their parents and friends by the newly-appointed Campus Director, Dr Muyesser Durur, and CSU Dean of Studies, Professor Ken Dillon. “Students will get to meet their teaching staff and find out what it’s like to study and work at university,” Dr Durur said. The students will then receive information on the CSU library, support services and academic advice. The new students in Port Macquarie are enrolled in such diverse CSU courses as business studies, social work, and health and rehabilitation science.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) campus has only just been established in Port Macquarie but already the University is engaging with local high school students to highlight the benefits of being able to undertake tertiary study in the region. Ms Sandra Wallace, School Outreach Coordinator at CSU in Port Macquarie, said, “Approximately 200 Year 10 students from St Paul’s High School will attend three 90-minute Future Moves workshops on Friday 30 March. The Future Moves workshops are designed to build aspiration among prospective students for tertiary study. They aim to encourage students to become more engaged in exploring their future career options and more confident in considering tertiary study as a realistic choice within their career path. We held similar workshops for about 200 Year 10 students at St Joseph’s Regional College on Monday 19 March and the feedback was very positive, so we’re looking forward to engaging with students at St Paul’s.”

Representatives of Charles Sturt University (CSU) and North Coast TAFE (NCTAFE) will meet in Port Macquarie on Thursday 5 July to implement a formal governance process between the parties to enhance provision of higher education programs for the Mid North Coast region. Dr Muyesser Durur, Campus Director of CSU in Port Macquarie, said, “Charles Sturt University has established a governance structure to provide overall leadership to guide strategy and implementation, including planning, monitoring and risk assessment of all facets for the successful development and sustainable growth of the University in Port Macquarie. The CSU-NCTAFE joint management committee is one of the key elements of the overall governance mechanism in place to achieve this.” The focus of the Governance Steering Committee at CSU in Port Macquarie is to plan, support and facilitate the collaboration between North Coast TAFE and the University in accordance with federal Structural Adjustment Fund (SAF) agreements and milestones.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host a gathering in Port Macquarie on Thursday 11 October for its graduates who now reside in the city and on the Mid-North Coast. Ms Michelle Fawkes, Manager, Alumni and Philanthropy, in CSU’s Office of Corporate Affairs, said, “The cocktail-style event aims to encourage Charles Sturt University’s many alumni who live in the region to reconnect. The Chancellor of Charles Sturt University, Mr Lawrie Willett, AO, and the Deputy Chancellor, Ms Kathryn Pitkin, will attend the event. Guest speaker for the evening is Ms Kylie Little, co-owner of The Little Brewing Company and a CSU graduate. Ms Little and her husband, Warwick, who is also a CSU graduate, will offer tastings of their product range at the event. Another graduate, Mr Cameron Marshall, ABC Radio Mid-North Coast Regional Program Manager and Breakfast presenter, will offer a toast to the University.” The Alumni gathering will be from 6pm to 8pm on Thursday 11 October at 27 Grant Street, CSU in Port Macquarie. Send your RSVP here.

A team of Port Macquarie High School Year 11 business students has won a competition from 192 similar teams in 29 regional schools across NSW and Victoria. The ‘Jokers’ team, consisting of Mitchell Davis and Mark Han, was the overall winner in the year-long Game On competition run by Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Faculty of Business. Senior business teacher and competition coordinator in the local school, Ms Dianne Davison, said the students benefited from participating in the competition as it required them to analyse situations, study information and make complex and difficult decisions. “I am sure they have increased their interests in a business career as they experienced the thrill and challenge of making high level business decisions and saw the relevance of what they learned in their school courses,” Ms Davison said. The ‘virtual business’ the students ran in the simulation game was based on the automobile industry, where they needed to make decisions on human resources, marketing, operations and finance during the competition. The Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Business, Professor Lesley White, will present a prize of $2 500 to the winning school and team at 9am at Port Macquarie High School on Wednesday 10 October. Charles Sturt University will offer its Bachelor of Business Studies on its Port Macquarie Campus in 2013.

Prospective students searching for financial support for their studies at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie in 2013 can apply now for scholarships. Campus Director for CSU in Port Macquarie, Dr Muyesser Durur, said the University is committed to encouraging students to participate in higher education on the NSW Mid North Coast. “Charles Sturt University has established a range of scholarships specifically available for its students in Port Macquarie that can assist with tuition fees, living expenses and learning materials,” Dr Durur said. The scholarships include: CSU Port Macquarie Excellence Scholarships for students based on evidence of community leadership and citizenship as well as high academic results at school or TAFE; CSU Port Macquarie Equity Scholarships for students studying at CSU in Port Macquarie or a distance education course administered from Port Macquarie; The CSU TAFE to University scholarship program for TAFE students; and, The CSU Pathway and Partnership scholarship program for students in a CSU Pathway, articulated or integrated program with CSU and a TAFE institute. Accounting, business, creative industries, paramedic, health sciences, justice studies and social work courses will be offered on the Port Macquarie campus to start in February 2013.

Senior executives from Charles Sturt University (CSU) and North Coast TAFE (NCTAFE) will sign a Heads of Agreement at CSU in Port Macquarie on Tuesday 27 November to formalise the existing relationship between the organisations. CSU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Garry Marchant, said both organisations share a commitment to improving participation and success of students in higher learning and supporting the skills needs of the region. “Charles Sturt University wants to help build sustainable regional institutions and communities. Our collaboration with North Coast TAFE to build effective pathways to higher education for residents on the Mid North Coast builds on our organisations’ individual strengths and provides real opportunities for the region to prosper,” Professor Marchant said. “The development of educational pathways is a proven approach to improving higher education participation and attainment. Our partnership with North Coast TAFE sits alongside relationships we have with a number of TAFE institutions in regional Australia. Each partnership is different, but they all reflect the commitment of each organisation to improving success in higher learning.” The Institute Director for North Coast TAFE, Ms Elizabeth McGregor, applauded the value of the partnership for existing and prospective students, saying that the signing of the agreement was another important milestone in increasing higher education options and access for the Mid North Coast communities. “We at North Coast TAFE believe that educational partnerships and collaboration like this are essential in delivering prosperity and sustainability to the region,” Ms McGregor said.