Matthew Pitcher, a fourth year Pharmacy student at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Wagga Wagga Campus, has taken out the NSW finals of Pharmacy Student of the Year. The competition, run by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, recognises outstanding pharmacy students. Matthew says the emphasis is on communication and counselling skills. “It’s about telling the customer exactly how to use a drug and what to look out for. This competition is trying to encourage best practice and at CSU they teach you to put best practice into place.” Head of the University’s School of Biomedical Sciences, Associate Professor Lyn Angel, says this is a very exciting outcome for CSU pharmacy. “In general it is a reflection of the calibre of our students and the quality of the academic staff who have put in the time and effort. They are passionate about their pharmacy profession”. Matthew will compete for the national title early next month. “The final will be a massive challenge. I'm expecting the calibre of the other state finalists to be of an exceptional standard. It will be difficult, but I'll give it my best shot."

Bathurst will once again be “humming” this week to the sound of V8 Supercars. Tomorrow, Wednesday 4 October, two of the official Fujitsu V8 Supercar Championship drivers, David Clark from Optima Sport, and Michael Caruso from Decina Racing, will drive simulated laps of Mount Panorama in the computer games laboratory which is part of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Information Technology. Paull Young from BAM Media, which looks after several V8 Supercar teams said it is like the real thing. “Michael hasn’t driven at Bathurst before, and David hasn’t driven a V8 Supercar around Mount Panorama, so their first experience of the Bathurst track will be in the computer lab.” As well, CSU lecturer in Computer Science Errol Chopping, says the computer games lab is well fitted out with enhanced graphics PCs, game consoles, a large fixed silver projection screen, high powered projectors, audio systems, joysticks and steering wheels. “The lab is used to research feedback which the user gets through feel, touch and motion, rather than eyes and ears. For example, we are hoping to mirror an experiment that was done in the United States about untrained pilots flying into cloud. They have a life span of about 147 seconds because they lose spatial orientation and they don’t believe their instruments. They go into graveyard spins and spiral dives because they have no feedback from their eyes.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is continuing to expand its international links with the latest Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signings in Switzerland. Berne University of Applied Sciences (USAB) has strong similarities with CSU, according to Associate Professor Greg Walker, Head of CSU’s School of Marketing and Management. “Like us, USAB was formed out of a group of regional colleges of higher education and has the largest number of postgraduate students in Switzerland. It is this type of collorative and exchange agreement that strengthens an already robust relationship between senior CSU staff in the University’s Faculty of Commerce and UASB’s Management School,” says Associate Professor Walker. The relationship has already provided for enrolment of UASB students in CSU’s Doctor of Business Administration program, while CSU’s Master of Business Administration is now linked with UASB study tour programs in Europe and China. “The study tours enable CSU students to visit some of Europe's leading companies and provide a rich learning experience for students. There are also provisions for CSU and UASB staff to have extended working visits at our respective institutions.”

“Rural and remote health practioners, like their metropolitan and city-dwelling counterparts, enjoy meeting with their colleagues, chewing the fat, and seeing a face-to-face lecture”, says Professor Patrick Ball, from Charles Sturt University’s School of Biomedical Sciences. Inland-based pharmacists will have another chance to hear about how they can make a difference to the health of their community at the third and final Pharmacy Continuing Education Session to be hosted by CSU’s Wagga Wagga and Orange campuses. Speakers include Dr Judith Crockett, senior lecturer in the School of Rural Management at the University’s newly launched Orange Campus, who will talk about depression in rural communities and Dr Debbie Burton who will update attendees on asthma research and findings. Professor Ball adds that “Professor Carroll from the University of New South Wales will talk about Parkinson’s disease whilst Mr Rollo Manning, a well known mover and shaker within the profession who is based in the Northern Territory, will talk about his work with Indigenous communities and providing solutions for rural and remote pharmacy in general”.

Ever wondered how the stunning effects in films such as Lord of the Rings are created? Lindsay Adams will reveal some trade secrets at a lecture in Wagga Wagga this week. Lindsay is a Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bachelor of Arts (Television Production) graduate, and now works as a 2d Technical Director at Animal Logic, a company at the forefront of the international visual effects industry. Lindsay’s recent work includes House of Flying Daggers, Stealth, and Oliver Stone's World Trade Center. He promises to thank CSU when he collects his first Oscar. “However, most of the work we do is in a dark room and we rarely get out, especially to something as glamorous as the Oscars. We start work when it’s dark and finish when it’s dark.” Lindsay says he can still enjoy himself at the cinema, despite knowing all the tricks of the trade. “The best effects are the ones you don’t notice. There’s a lot of work out there that is completely seamless and even I don’t spot it.”

Earlier this year Braidwood in the Southern Tablelands of NSW was listed on the State Heritage Register – the first town on the east coast of Australia to be recognised in this way. Now the residents will find out how Braidwood will be affected economically by the listing when the Western Research Institute (WRI) of Charles Sturt University begins its study to monitor the town’s future. Kathy Sloan, a senior research officer with the WRI says “the listing does restrict what can happen to buildings and what people can do on their properties. On the other hand, a heritage listing can be a good way to attract more tourists, and they already market themselves that way.” The study has commenced with an economic profile of Braidwood, including an analysis of the local economy. Once benchmarks are identified, a business survey will be conducted every year for five years. The WRI will then compare Braidwood’s economic trends with trends across regional NSW.

Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia will inspect the Wagga Wagga Campus of Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Thursday 12 October. He will be accompanied by a large delegation from Cambodia, a country in Southeast Asia with a population of more than 13 million. Head of the University’s Wagga Wagga Campus Professor David Green says the Prime Minister is visiting Wagga Wagga as part of his official visit to Australia. “The Cambodian Prime Minister expressed an interest in seeing Australian agricultural facilities, hence the visit to our Campus.” Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Goulter said “it is very clear that our model of collaboration with government agencies and with industry, as demonstrated with the E H Graham Centre and the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, is a model for other countries to use.”  The Cambodian delegation will be briefed on current collaborations between the NSW Department of Primary Industry and Cambodian research institutions before a luncheon hosted by CSU. Professor Deirdre Lemerle, Director of the E H Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, a joint research venture between CSU and the NSW Department of Primary Industries, says the visit is a “tremendous opportunity to showcase our excellent research capacity in agriculture, and further develop our collaborative links with Cambodia to create profitable and sustainable agricultural systems.”

Associate Professor Erica Smith from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Faculty of Education says “apprenticeships are such a hot issue at the moment”. This is why the topic has been chosen for the latest Research in Vocational Education and Training (RIVET) colloquium to be held at CSU this Friday (20 October). Professor Smith says the twice yearly events, which are funded by CSU’s Faculty of Education and managed by the RIVET CSU Community of Scholars, “have quite a reputation among the local community as a place to come and keep up to date with the latest research. The first speaker is looking at how to improve teaching practice in apprenticeships, and then we have a local speaker who is going to talk about the impact of recent national changes at a local level. The second part of the day is about innovations to increase participation in apprenticeships. School-based apprenticeships are new to NSW, and schools will learn how they can integrate these into their curriculum. The final paper is about pre-apprenticeships which is an initiative to start people in apprentice training off the job.” 

According to a report published in March of this year, the well-documented nursing workforce shortage is an international problem. Nurse resignation rates in the USA are around 12-15 per cent per annum, while the annual attrition rates in New South Wales are closer to 20 per cent. Susan Bragg, a PhD student with the School of Health Science, is hoping to explore the reasons why NSW rural registered nurses resign from hospitals by interviewing nurses who resigned from a NSW rural hospital for reasons other than maternity, retirement or geographic relocation. “The idea came to me after I left the hospital system, and then we kept hearing about the nurse shortage. I wondered why no one was listening to the nurses who had resigned. I strongly believe that the nurses who have left the system hold the reason why. I think there are quite a few issues impacting on why nurses leave and hopefully I can summarise those in my thesis and then the system may pay attention.”