An agreement between Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) to provide study options for business studies students will be marked in a ceremony in Wagga Wagga this week. A new Memorandum of Understanding will be signed by CSU’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Ross Chambers, and CIT Chief Executive Officer, Mr Adrian Marron, on Wednesday 21 March to continue the cooperation between the two education providers. CIT is a TAFE partner of CSU for the Pathway Program into business studies. CIT students complete an Advanced Diploma, and then complete CSU subjects (delivered on CIT’s Reid campus in Canberra) in their final year of study. After three years of study, students graduate with an Advanced Diploma from CIT and a degree in business studies from CSU. Professor Chambers said, “This new agreement will strengthen pathways for students between the Canberra Institute of Technology and Charles Sturt University, as well as the development of further academic cooperation.” Read more here.

A group of students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) has raised more than $2 500 to help children at a flood affected primary school in southern Queensland. The money raised by CSU Residential Advisors has been donated to the Grantham State School, which is located in one of the small communities devasted by flash flooding in January. CSU Manager of Residential Operations in Albury-Wodonga and Wagga Wagga, Mr Peter Bell said the Residential Advisors took it upon themselves to raise the money by collecting donations. “Many of our students are from regional areas so they had a real connection with the devastation and tragic loss of life in Grantham,” he said.  Grantham State School Principal Ms Christie Minns says the money will help support the learning needs of students. “While the material damage can be repaired and the possessions replaced it is only within a stable environment that the emotional impact on children can be gradually addressed,” she said. “This contribution will help create that stability in the school context.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has been named as the first Australian host of an international lecture at the National Library in Canberra to promote the importance of information in the high technology age. Professor of Information Studies at CSU, Lisa Given, said, “This is the first time that the American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) has awarded this lecture series to an institution outside North America.” Canadian academic, Emeritus Professor Gloria Leckie, from the University of Western Ontario, will deliver the ASIS&T lecture from 5pm on Wednesday 21 March. Her free public lecture at the National Library of Australia, From Facebook to Twitter and Into the Cloud: Where is Library and Information Science in our Googleized World?, will explore the meaning of libraries and information centres in today’s technological world. Read more on CSU News here.

An animal science student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga has been named as a finalist in a national meat judging competition. Seven agricultural, animal and veterinary science students represented CSU at the annual Intercollegiate Meat Judging (ICMJ) competition in Armidale from Tuesday 5 to Saturday 9 July. During the grading of beef, lamb and pork carcases and retail cuts, the CSU side competed with teams from other Australian universities as well as top teams from USA and Japan. “This provided an excellent opportunity for Charles Sturt University students to network with students from other universities interested in the production of high quality meat to the domestic and export markets,” said lecturer in animal production with the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Dr Belinda King. Two of the seven CSU students made it into the final round. “However, after an excellent oral presentation, Ms Naomi Hobson was one of the 10 students named as finalists and selected for further training with Meat Standards Australia. She now can win a place in the Australian team to complete in the ICMJ competition in USA in January 2012.”

Thousands of native trees and shrubs will be planted at Charles Sturt University (CSU) as staff and students help mark National Tree Day. CSU Green has organised for native trees, shrubs and grasses to be planted at CSU in Bathurst on Friday 29 July, in Wagga Wagga on Saturday 30 July and in Orange on Thursday 18 August. CSU has set a target of using 10 per cent of University land to increase biodiversity by 2011, and 20 per cent by 2015. CSU Green communication and education officer, Ms Nicole Maher said it is a practical way for people to make a difference to the local environment. “It’s really satisfying to walk past the site in the months and years that follow, and watch the plants you put in growing into a beautiful natural area,” she said. “By getting involved in something like this, people get a far greater appreciation for the incredible native flora and fauna that we have right here on our campuses.”

Veterinary science students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga are lending their support and knowledge to the annual Millions Paws Walk organised by the RSPCA. Members of the official CSU student club, the Veterinary Students Association (VSA) will work with animal lovers and their pets to make sure the fundraising event runs smoothly on Sunday 15 May. The VSA’s Ms Caitlin Mack will be one of 40 students taking part. “I’ll be able to put my veterinary science skills to use to support this worthy charity while walking my pet dog Bella,” she said. Head of the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Professor Nick Sangster, said the School works with RSPCA vets in a number of ways, while volunteer work by students also involves finding pets new homes. The RSPCA Millions Paws Walk aims to raise funds for the animal welfare organisation.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer has joined more than 100 academics from around the world in their concern for human rights in Thailand. Dr Robert Tierney is a lecturer in management in the School of Business at CSU in Bathurst. He signed an open letter to the Thai Prime Minister Ms Yingluck Shinawatra highlighting concern about ‘the diminution of the space for the free exchange of ideas in Thailand’. A total of 112 international scholars signed the letter which draws attention to human rights issues and the political use of lese majeste (Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code) and the 2007 Computer Crimes Act. Spokesman for the academics is Kevin Hewison, Professor of Asian Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA. “The political abuse of these laws has seen a precipitous deterioration of human rights in Thailand,” said Professor Hewison. “Censorship of websites, self-censorship in the media and many, many charges of disloyalty mean serious restrictions on freedom of expression.” Dr Tierney said, “The legislative changes in Thailand make it much more difficult for people  to speak out in this so-called democracy. Any legislative decree which sets out to squeeze the right to freedom of academic expression silences not only those who wish to undertake research which may be deemed hostile to the authorities but also interviewees who desire their views to be expressed.”

Research focusing on weed and disease management, the importance of diverse crop rotations and water movement within the soil profile will be on show at the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation Annual Field Day on Wednesday 7 September. Researchers from Charles Sturt University (CSU) and NSW Department of Primary Industries will present their trials and results to farmers, natural resource managers and industry representatives. Graham Centre Director Professor Deirdre Lemerle said it’s an opportunity to network and gain valuable information. “Our aim is for the field site to be ‘owned’ by the industry, and we are looking forward to some good discussion and debate, at the field day and in the future, about the constraints and opportunities facing our production systems,” she said.

Supermarket botany, wine tasting, magic microscopes, water and soil testing and the multiplication of kangaroo paws using tissue culture will be on show in the Charles Sturt University (CSU) tent at the Henty Machinery Field Days. Staff and students from CSU will take visitors through hands-on and active displays that highlight various aspects of research and teaching in the University’s Faculty of Science, which is represented on its main campuses in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Orange and Wagga Wagga. Acting Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Science, Professor Lyn Angel, says, “Charles Sturt University has a strong presence in regional Australia, and the Field Days present a key opportunity to engage with the community, listen to current issues on the land, and show some of our education and training facilities”.