Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will next week host a delegation from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR) as part of a large research project aimed at finding ways to alleviate poverty of farming families in rain-fed areas in the South East Asian nation. The $5.1 million project, ‘Developing improved farming and marketing systems in rain fed regions of southern Lao PDR’, involves researchers from institutions in Laos and Australia and is funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and led by Strategic Research Professor at CSU, Professor Len Wade. He will accompany the delegation, headed by the Director General of the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI) in Lao, Dr Bounthong Bouahom. On Monday 21 February, the delegation will visit research facilities at CSU in Wagga Wagga, including the new $2.4 million underground field research laboratory known as a Rhizolysimeter. The delegation, which will also be accompanied by Research Program Manager at ACIAR, Dr John Dixon, will visit rice farms and fisheries while in the Riverina. Field research is underway in several locations in provinces of southern Laos, and Professor Wade will travel to Lao PDR on Friday 25 February for the annual review of the project as well as visit field sites in the country.

Students get their first real taste of their new life at university during Orientation 2011 at Charles Sturt University (CSU) next week. With the theme ‘Superher-O Week’, Live Work Play, a range of academic and social activities for new students start on Monday 21 February at CSU campuses, including Wagga Wagga. Around 1 100 new students have accepted a place in an undergraduate on campus course at CSU in Wagga Wagga. A large range of courses are offered at CSU in Wagga Wagga including accounting, veterinary science, oral health, pharmacy, teaching, television production, social work and nursing. Head of Campus at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr Adrian Lindner, will conduct an Official Welcome Ceremony for the new students and their families and friends from 10am to 11.30am on Monday 21 February. Assisting the new students throughout the week will be around 50 Orientation student leaders dressed in blue shirts.

He began his working life as a junior clerk with the Wagga Agricultural College and ends it as finance chief of Charles Sturt University (CSU), overseeing a budget of $380 million. Mr Jim Hackett will retire as Executive Director of the University’s Division of Finance on Friday 18 February after 44 years with CSU and its predecessor institutions. Reflecting on his lengthy career with the organisation, Mr Hackett said, “The capital development of Charles Sturt University during the last five years has been staggering. Between 2007 and 2010, capital expenditure was $250 million; up 50 per cent from an asset base of $500 million.” Looking to the future, Mr Hackett said, “The capital plan for the next five years of $200 million is fully funded. We are now a major player, a genuine university with national and international recognition.” Mr Hackett says he is looking forward to having more ‘time’ during his retirement in Wagga Wagga. This includes time for travel and his three grandchildren. Mr Paul Dowler has been appointed the new Executive Director of the Division of Finance.

While Orientation Week at Charles Sturt University (CSU) gives new students a chance to familiarise themselves with their campus and each other, it will also raise funds for a worthy cause. Youngcare is a fundraising program assisting young Australians with full-time care needs. One such person is Mr Jock Watson who studied at CSU before a car accident left him with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). Mr Watson’s family was left with no option but to put him in a nursing home. Through Market Day raffles and gold coin donations at social events, the CSU students will raise money for Youngcare in the hope of helping people like Mr Watson gain more independence. CSU Orientation Week leader Ms Emily Heckendorf believes the cause is close to the students’ hearts. “This kind of injury could happen to any one of us and hopefully with Charles Sturt University’s support, we can be part of a solution.”

Cloudstreet - the acclaimed Australian play based on Tim Winton’s novel of the same name – will be presented by the University Theatre Ensemble (UTE) in Wagga Wagga from Thursday 31 May. Adapted for the stage by Nick Enright and Justin Monjo and directed by Kim Hardwick from the School of Communication and Creative Industries at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga, Cloudstreet follows the relationship between the Lambs and Pickles families, who live in the same house in post-war Perth. The UTE production involves third year Bachelor of Arts (Acting for Screen and Stage) and Bachelor of Arts (Design for Theatre and Television) students . The play runs until Saturday 9 June at the Civic Theatre, Burns Way in Wagga Wagga. Tickets are available on 02 6926 9688 or here.

Students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange and Wagga Wagga recently returned from a remote cattle station where they gained firsthand experience in their chosen profession. A group of 15 fourth year Bachelor of Pharmacy  students set off from Wagga Wagga at 6am on April 15 along with lecturers Professor Patrick Ball and Ms Hana Morrissey. The group met Mr John Nolan from CSU’s Centre for Indigenous Studies for a first cultural briefing over lunch in Dubbo before continuing their journey.  They travelled a total of 830 kilometers to Moglia Station, nine kilometres north east of Goodooga, NSW, where they met with station owner Mr Michael Anderson and his wife Ms Jutta Anderson. Mr Anderson (Nyoongar Ghurradjong Murri Ghillar) is the leader of the Euahlayi tribe, a trained lawyer and Aboriginal rights campaigner. “The students had firsthand experience of the Aboriginal cultural, the rural Australian way of living and the remote health system pros and cons,” said Professor Ball. “The students visited local health facilities at Walgett, Collarenebri and Brewarrina and shared barbecue lunches with Aboriginal communities from Weimoringle and Goodooga. The information passed from the community elders to students was priceless.”

Staff and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) are being urged to do their bit for Clean Up Australia Day. CSU Green is calling for volunteers on its five major campuses - Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga - to participate in the national event on Friday 4 March, the day designated for schools. Volunteers are encouraged to register their interest in the clean up on their local campus through the Clean Up Australia Day site here. “We hope to see staff and students and their family and friends turn out between 8am and 11am to pick up rubbish and conserve the local environment,” CSU Green’s Ms Nicole Hyde said. “The event will be a positive start to the commencement of on campus classes during the week. Volunteers are asked to bring along some gloves to wear and of course a hat and sunscreen.”

High school students from as far afield as Tasmania will gain an insight into studying animal, equine or veterinary science at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 July. The Years 11 and 12 students from almost 120 high schools in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania will visit CSU as part of the University’s MyDay, an initiative that lets high school students experience a day in the life of a university student. During the two-day My Day event, the students will participate in hands-on workshops within the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The University will also host general information sessions on accommodation and financial support. Undergraduate courses under the spotlight during the event include the Bachelor of Animal Science, the Bachelor of Equine Science, and the Bachelor of Veterinary Biology/ Bachelor of Veterinary Science. Read more here.

Agriculture and animal science students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will get a head start on job hunting at a student-led career fair tomorrow, Wednesday 1 August. More than 220 students from CSU’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences and School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences  will meet with over 30 prospective employers from agribusiness, government departments, research organisations and farming groups. “It’s a chance for potential employers to promote their organisations and provide information about what it takes to pursue a career within these industries,” said member of the organising committee and Bachelor of Animal Science student Mr Isaac Allen. Students from CSU in Wagga Wagga, Orange and Albury-Wodonga will attend the fair which will include a career development workshop and a panel discussion with recent graduates.