About 200 Year 12 chemistry students and their teachers from Riverina high schools will join Charles Sturt University (CSU) scientists in Wagga Wagga in a series of laboratory activities and information sessions over four days from Monday 18 to Thursday 21 February. The HSC Chemistry Days are organised by staff within the chemistry discipline in the University’s Faculty of Science as part of its promotion of science in the wider community. One of the highlights will be four activities in a daily ‘Magic Show’ hosted by academics from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences in the new National Life Sciences Hub from approximately 1.30pm to 2.45pm.

The Vice-Chancellor and President of Charles Sturt University (CSU), Professor Andrew Vann, will officially open the new Cellar Door at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Valentine’s Day, Thursday 14 February. Located in a new building overlooking CSU’s commercial winery and vineyard, the Cellar Door opened for business late last year in its expanded location near the University’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences and the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre. In addition to the official opening from 3pm, guests will have an opportunity to taste newly released CSU wines, including the 2009 Cellar Reserve Sparkling Pinot Noir Chardonnay and the 2012 Sauvignon Blanc. Read more about the new venue on CSU News here. The Cellar Door is located in building 413, near car park 11 in McKeown Drive, CSU in Wagga Wagga and is open from 11am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 11am to 4pm on weekends. To place a wine order, telephone 02 6933 2435 or send an email.

A key Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher has been returned to the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GDRC) Southern Regional Panel for the next two years. Associate Professor of Food Science Chris Blanchard from the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Wagga Wagga is the Deputy Chair of the Panel. The CSU academic is one of 11 members appointed until 2015. The Regional Panels link the Corporation with growers, researchers, scientists, agribusiness and grower groups. Southern Regional Panel Chair, Mr Keith Pengilley, described the Panels as, “very important in ensuring grower concerns, ideas and priorities are fed into GRDC”. Associate Professor Blanchard is also a member of the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation - an alliance between CSU and NSW DPI.

Finland’s on-going success in international education rankings is the envy of many countries but the education system in the small Nordic country steers away from standardised tests and long school hours. Educational reforms dating back to the 1970s have built up “a culture of responsibility and trust within an education system that values teachers’ wisdom in judging how to promote a good life for the students”, says Finnish academic, Associate Professor Hannu Heikkinen. A senior researcher at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research, and a visiting academic at CSU’s Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE) where he is an adjunct assistant professor, Associate Professor Heikkinen is visiting Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Australia from Friday 1 to Tuesday 19 February. “Unlike countries such as Korea and China, who match our success in international tests, Finland’s school hours for teachers and pupils are among the smallest in the world and school autonomy is still quite high. Finns have encouraged creativity and freedom for schools and teachers. The Finnish example shows that education is not about competing but more about taking care of others,” Associate Professor Heikkinen said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will welcome new students during O Week 2013 from Monday 25 February to Friday 1 March. The week provides incoming students with a range of academic and social activities as they settle into their new life at university. CSU in Wagga Wagga will welcome about 1 200 new students with an official Commencement Ceremony in Joyes Hall, Pine Gully Road from 10am on Monday 25 February. It will be followed by the colourful Market Day which showcases the services and support available to the new students. Organising the entertainment for O Week 2013 is student support officer, Mr Roger Ansell. “It is very important that our new students feel welcomed and connected to their new social environment and feel secure,” Mr Ansell said. “We have booked nationally profiled entertainers including Blue Juice, Stonefield, and Kingswood. Another entertainer is Sydney DJ Nina Las Vegas (triple j), and other events include a zombies and ghouls dance party, a trivia quiz night, a pool party and a big band night. You can read the full program for O Week 2013 at CSU in Wagga Wagga including academic, cultural and social events here. Funds raised by the students during O Week 2013 will be donated to the cancer assistance network, Can Assist.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will host a training day on Thursday 21 February for high and primary school teachers and pupils from across the Riverina to help them prepare to compete for the first time in the regional 2013 RoboCup Junior Challenge to be staged at the University in mid-June. RoboCup Junior Challenge coordinator, Mr Allen Benter, a PhD student and researcher at the CSU Centre for Research in Complex Systems (http://charybdis.mit.csu.edu.au/crics/ ) (CRiCS) in Bathurst, said RoboCup Junior Australia is a project-oriented educational initiative that supports local, regional and international robotic events for school students. “The focus of RoboCup Junior is the development of cooperative teamwork and technical skills in an environment of participation, fun and excitement. Teams choose to take up the challenge at their own skill and interest level. RoboCup Junior offers three distinct robotic building challenges - Dance, Rescue, and Soccer. The workshop from 9am to 3pm will assist teachers and students through the process of constructing and programming a robot using Lego to compete in one of three events at the competition in June. The winners of the regional competition will then advance to the state competition.”

Australian farmers and those involved in the production of food and natural fibres need strong support as they confront the challenges resulting from recent heavy rain and flooding, according to Associate Professor John Kent, Head of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Agricultural and Wine Science. Professor Kent believes that a coordinated movement of volunteers to assist farmers in the rebuilding process is needed as farmers are facing the loss of their crops, equipment and infrastructure like fences, irrigation channels, and, in many cases, the soil itself. “It will take a long time to recover from these floods, and on top of 10 years of drought this is a cruel blow,” says Professor Kent. “Australia’s farmers are some of the most important people in our society and we need to look after them and support them as they go through difficult times. They daily deal with the variations in climate and weather. They have business decisions and large financial investments to make because production of food is a long-term process involving much planning and up-front investment, and when a disaster like this occurs it impacts severely on these long-term plans.” In addition, there is a need for long-term strategies. “We have to learn how to manage climate change disruptions and how to adapt to a warmer and more variable climate. Australia and the world needs people to carry out research in order to find ways to adapt farming practices, develop new crop and pasture varieties and farming systems, and then pass on this knowledge to current and future farmers,” Professor Kent said.

Three Charles Sturt University (CSU) students in the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences have completed a month-long meat and livestock industry tour of the United States. Mr Isaac Allen, Ms Vanessa Campbell, and Ms Jordan Hoban were named in the five-member Australian team to compete at three meat judging competitions in the US. As a team, the Australians placed fourth at two contests and received fourth place in all categories of their final contest in Fort Worth, Texas. Individual award highlights included Mr Allen winning the lamb judging at the National Western competition in Denver, and Ms Campbell securing ninth place overall in the South Western contest at Fort Worth, Texas. Professor of Animal Production Peter Wynn, said, “Three representatives from Charles Sturt University in the national team to compete in the USA is a great honour. The dedication of our coaching team, led by veterinary students Ms Katelyn Braine and Ms Bronte Doughton working with staff from the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences Ms Jen Clulow and Dr Bindi King, certainly gave the students a flying start”. Professor Wynn also praised the support of Teys Australia, Junee Lamb and Knights Meats for providing access to their product and facilities for training.  CSU student Mr Allen said the group benefitted from its exposure to different aspects of the red meat industry in the US. “It was an invaluable experience because we learnt so much about different producing methods and processing systems. We met so many great people who were all very willing to share so much with us and this will help to expand our knowledge and expertise.”

Students studying agricultural and animal sciences and horticulture at Western Illinois University (WIU) in the United States will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 12 March. The 12 students will inspect CSU facilities including the National Life Sciences Hub, Equine Centre, and Veterinary Clinical Centre from 10am to 12 noon when the Head of the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, Professor John Mawson, will host a barbecue for the international guests, staff, and third and fourth year agricultural science students from CSU. On Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 March, the students will visit a rice farm at Leeton, and a sheep stud, orchard and winery at Griffith. Accompanying the students will be CSU’s Emeritus Professor Ted Wolfe and WIU’s Associate Professor Tom Bruening (International Agriculture). “Students from Western Illinois University visited Charles Sturt University in 2009 and 2011. Over previous years, three of our students have studied at Western Illinois University for a semester and we have hosted two students as part of international exchanges. The Riverina is a wonderful setting for agriculture. I encourage the farmers and local agribusinesses we visit to 'tell it like it is' in terms of family farm stories, industry issues such as finding good quality labour, the difficulty of coping with climatic and marketing risks, the ongoing water debate, and the problems caused by the high Australian dollar,” Professor Wolfe said.