The latest in animation and visual effects will be shown in Wagga Wagga during the 8th annual Australian International Animation Festival, hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in May. “The 2011 event at the Forum 6 Cinema has secured amazing exclusives from more than 2 000 submissions from all around the world,” said festival organiser Mr Andrew Hagan from the School of Communication and Creative Industries  at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The festival will premiere on Friday 13 May at 6pm with the first International Competition program. On Saturday 14 May, there will be a special presentation by Australian filmmakers. “We’ve enticed as many of the filmmakers as we could to take the stage after the screening so they can talk about animating in Australia and to answer questions. There are programs for younger audiences and even a late night event for those whose tastes lurch to the truly odd and unfathomable.” There will also be free talks and workshops by filmmakers from local and international filmmakers. See the full program here.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Communication and Creative Industries will co-host, with the Centre for Media History, a two-day interdisciplinary symposium in Bathurst on Thursday 5 and Friday 6 May to mark the centenary of the ‘bible of the bush’ in NSW, The Land newspaper. Ms Margaret Van Heekeren, lecturer in journalism at the School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst, said the symposium, titled The Land: Past, Present and Future, will bring together media scholars to reflect on how the media sees rural and regional Australia. “The idea for the symposium was sparked by The Land anniversary but the symposium is really a broader look at how rural and regional areas have been represented in media, and how they interact with media. We have presentations covering newspapers as well as radio and film,” Ms Van Heekeren said. Academics from several universities will present papers on a range of topics related to The Land newspaper, and the general media coverage of issues affecting rural Australia in the last 100 years.

Fresh from his presentation at a conference in the United Kingdom, the Manager of Residential Operations at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga and Wagga Wagga, Mr Peter Bell will discuss an innovative youth educational program at a public lecture in Narrandera on Wednesday 18 May. At the Association for Student Residential Accommodation conference in Edinburgh in early April, Mr Bell delivered a presentation on the program, Putting Youth in the Picture. He discussed how CSU is rolling out the program across its regions after securing the first NSW licence in 2010. Designed to assist local communities in dealing with confronting issues for young people, Putting Youth in the Picture has already been implemented in the University’s Halls of Residences. “This program is about empowering local communities through their local councils, school or sporting groups to use the program’s resources to hopefully prevent their young people from getting into difficulties,” Mr Bell said.

One of the loudest applause during the recent graduation ceremonies at Charles Sturt University (CSU) was saved for lecturer Mr Bruce Gater from the Faculty of Arts at CSU in Wagga Wagga. He was awarded a Master of Visual and Performing Arts on Thursday 31 March by the Chancellor Mr Lawrence Willett, AO. A lecturer for the past nine years, Mr Gater received his postgraduate degree in front of about 30 of his former students in the Bachelor Arts (Television Production) course. Other academics from the Faculty of Arts in Wagga Wagga to be awarded postgraduate degrees on Thursday 31 March were: Dr Karen Bell with a Doctor of Philosophy; Associate Professor Jennifer McKinnon with a Doctor of Philosophy; Mr Damian Candusso with a Master of Arts Practice with Distinction; and Ms Kim Hardwick with a Master of Arts Practice. During an inspirational occasional address, Macau-based General Stage Manager of the world’s largest aquatic show, The House of Dancing Water, Ms Anna Robb reminded the graduates of their fortune and urged them to take risks. Click here to read the speech.

A Charles Sturt University (CSU) vet is warning horse owners to protect their animals from mosquitoes in light of a suspected outbreak of viral neurological disease across three states. More than 135 cases have been reported in horses in NSW and 16 of those have died or been put down. Senior Lecturer in equine medicine with the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences,  Dr Kris Hughes, said eight cases have been investigated by staff at the Veterinary Clinical Centre at CSU in Wagga Wagga over recent months. He says Industry & Investment NSW is testing samples from affected horses to determine the exact cause of the condition but it is believed to be a mosquito borne virus. “Affected horses can demonstrate an exaggerated and weak limb movement, lack of coordination, muscle tremors, exaggerated response to stimuli including touch and sound, facial paralysis and behavioural changes,” he said. Dr Hughes recommends rugging, fly veils and using licensed insect repellant treatments along with removing stagnant water where horses are housed to help reduce exposure to mosquitoes.

Recent years have seen a rise across Australasia in the construction of new glasshouses and other controlled growth chambers for plant research to replace outdated facilities from the 1950s and 1960s. Scientists, technicians and managers involved in plant biology research in controlled environments will meet at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga from Tuesday 1 May to Thursday 3 May. The A will hold its 6th conference to discuss new facilities in Australia and overseas, the latest technology supporting glasshouses or controlled environments including lighting, electronic controls and robotics, along with the latest research. The conference is being held at the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, at CSU in Wagga Wagga, where preparations are underway to open a $45 million National Life Sciences Hub in June, which includes a glasshouse complex for advanced research into the interactions between soil, climate and plant biology, and pathology. “It is important to know how plants interact with the climate, particularly the changing climate, in relation to productivity. These facilities are a key part of the research infrastructure required to investigate such interactions,” said Senior Lecturer in Viticulture Dr Dennis Greer. The conference’s keynote speaker is Professor Bruce Bugbee from the Department of Plants, Soils and Biometeorology at Utah State University in the USA.

It is hoped that some good old fashioned inter-campus rivalry at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will encourage staff and students to donate to the Australian Red Cross Blood Service. The Red Cross 2011 Inter-campus Blood Donation Challenge is being run until July. The mobile blood bank will parked in the CSU car park near Beres Ellwood Oval, Nathan Cobb Drive at CSU in Wagga Wagga from 8.30am to 3pm on Monday 28 March, and from 10.30am to 6pm on Tuesday 29 March. Appointments can be made online here or by calling 13 14 95. Read about blood donor arrangements for CSU in Bathurst here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will host its first MyDay event for 2011 for Riverina high school students. MyDay Teaching and Education on Tuesday 8 March aims to offer secondary students an opportunity to experience a day in the life of a university student while focussing on courses and careers in teaching and education. Students attending MyDay will also learn about the opportunities available to them during their tertiary studies at CSU, such as gaining international experience through CSU Global, and financial assistance with a Charles Sturt University Foundation scholarship. The courses that will be profiled include primary teaching, technology and applied studies, education, secondary English, mathematics and science. A full list of MyDay events available at CSU in 2011 can be found here.

Indigenous poet Ms Ali Cobby Eckermann is the first Writer-In-Residence for 2011 at the Booranga Writers’ Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. A Nunga writer, Ms Cobby Eckermann lives in the South Australia town of Koolunga. Her first poetry collection, published by Picaro Press in 2009, little bit longtime, charts her journey to reconnect with her Yankunytjatjara family. In 2007, Ms Cobby Eckermann was granted two poetry mentorships through the Northern Territory Writers’ Centre and Varuna, The Writers’ House. The poet will be joined in Wagga Wagga by fellow writer Mr Lionel Fogarty, a Murri man from Queensland. His internationally acclaimed work includes ten books of poetry and a children’s book. Mr Fogarty is well known for his activism for the rights of Indigenous Australians since he was a teenager. While a Writer-In-Residence until Friday 11 March, Ms Cobby Eckermann will be accompanied by her partner on visits to the Riverina Juvenile Justice Centre in Wagga Wagga, where they will be working on writing with detainees.