The Western Research Institute (WRI) at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst is celebrating 10 years of research that has charted and informed developments in rural and regional Australia. CSU Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Ian Goulter, complimented the organisation on this milestone, saying “WRI is celebrating its 10th birthday in the same year that Charles Sturt University is celebrating its 20th. WRI and CSU have worked together on many projects that have helped shape and paint a picture of inland Australia. On behalf of CSU, I congratulate WRI on this significant achievement and look forward to working with the organisation over the next 10 years.” WRI Director, Mr Tom Murphy, said that when the WRI was established in 1999 the aim was to provide timely and factual data about trends and developments in regional Australia and the organisation has exceeded that aim. See more CSU 20th anniversary events here.

The planned State visit to Australia and to Charles Sturt University (CSU) on Saturday 14 February by His Excellency the President of Timor-Leste, Dr José Ramos-Horta, has been postponed due to the ongoing natural disasters in Australia, including the devastating bushfires in Victoria. The Acting Vice-Chancellor of CSU, Professor Lyn Gorman, said that the University has been advised by representatives of the President that, after consultation with the Office of the Governor-General of Australia, the visit will be postponed to a mutually convenient time later this year. Professor Gorman said, “We fully understand the position of the President and thank him for his wishes for the victims of the Victorian bushfires. We thank the President for his commitment to reschedule his visit later in the year and look forward to welcoming him at that time. Given that this visit was to be the inaugural event of CSU’s 20th anniversary year, the celebrations will now begin with the Official Opening Ceremony at CSU at Wagga Wagga on Thursday 12 March.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the University of Delaware in the United States will reaffirm their commitment to agricultural education on two continents when 18 students spend 10 days at CSU at Wagga Wagga in the New Year. Located in farming country between New York and Washington DC, the University of Delaware has one of the largest Study Abroad programs in the USA. “This will be the fourth group of students to travel to CSU since 2004,” said Emeritus Professor Ted Wolfe, from the CSU School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences. The students, who are due to arrive in Wagga Wagga on Monday 5 January, will study local animal production issues and leadership opportunities through hands-on experiences, farm visits, field trips and local sightseeing. “We gain international insights from these visitors – international exchange is important for CSU students and academics, as well as for the community groups, local agribusiness and agricultural institutions that are assisting CSU to develop a global perspective,” said Professor Wolfe. During their four-week stay in Australia, the US students will participate in lectures and visit agribusiness firms and farms around Wagga Wagga, before moving on to sightseeing in Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney.

At its final meeting for 2008 on Thursday 18 December, the University Council of Charles Sturt University (CSU) congratulated Associate Professor David McKinnon and Dr Lena Danaia from the School of Teacher  Education for winning a prestigious 2008 Australian Award for University Teaching. The Chancellor of CSU, Mr Lawrie Willett, AO, said “The Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) award reflects the dedication and expertise of Professor McKinnon and Dr Danaia, and that of their School, the Faculty of Education and the whole University. We are proud of their contributions to the education of the professions for our regions and the nation. This award reflects Charles Sturt University’s mission to provide education and research to national and international standards, for the people of inland Australia.” Read more about the ALTC award here.

A passion for education, the pursuit of excellence and a commitment to children were attributes recognised in three students at Charles Sturt University in Ontario, Canada, who were awarded the Kate Graham Learning Communities Awards in December 2008. The winners, Mr Roland McDougall, Ms Melanie Childs and Mr Farran Glynn, were presented their awards by Ms Kate Graham and her husband Paul during ‘Careers Week.’ The $400 in prize money for the award was raised by CSU Ontario’s 2007 and 2008 graduating students after Ms Graham was involved in a serious car accident which interrupted her Bachelor of Primary Education Studies. The three students to receive the Kate Graham Learning Communities Awards in 2008 were recognised as representing Ms Graham’s dedication to learning. Read more about the CSU Ontario School of Education here.

The joys, challenges and wonder of science and technology as a career option will be highlighted when high school students attend the Siemens Science Experience at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga from Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 January. The three days of science experiences will include practical and interactive demonstrations for students starting Year 10 in 2009, as well as their parents. A national initiative of the Science Schools Foundation Inc., the annual event has the support of Rotary clubs, Siemens, the Australian Science Teacher's Association and the Young Scientists of Australia as well as universities around the country. Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Science and science enthusiast, Professor Nick Klomp, and Manager of CSU Learning Enterprise, Ms Jenny King, will welcome the students to the Siemens Science Experience from 9am on Wednesday 14 January in the Wal Fife Theatre on CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus.

The Remote Telescope at Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Bathurst has a full calendar of observation events plotted for the UNESCO 2009 International Year of Astronomy, which celebrates 400 years since Galileo first turned a telescope to view the night sky. The initiator and administrator of the CSU telescope, Associate Professor David McKinnon at the CSU School of Teacher Education says that images of the southern night sky through the telescope can be seen via the Internet, weather permitting, around themes that depend on which celestial objects are visible at that time. “The observation calendar centres on special events such as the particular phases of the Moon and planets, as well as requests that are lodged via the Remote Telescope website,” Professor McKinnon said. “This year is a wonderful opportunity for school students and anyone interested in astronomy to access the telescope and website to see planets and other objects as they may never have seen them before.”

Demand for health and education courses offered to Victorian students by Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Albury-Wodonga continues to be healthy, says the University’s Student Administration Executive Director, Mr Geoff Honey. “The physiotherapy course appears to be full, while our other allied health and education courses have been in strong demand from Victorian students,” Mr Honey said. “However, there are places available in most offered courses on the campus, especially in environmental science and business.” Offers for CSU places through the NSW University Admissions Centre will be made this Thursday 22 January. Orientation Week for new students will commence on Monday 16 February. Victorian applicants considering a CSU course should contact the University’s Student Administration Office on (02) 6051 6811 to discuss their application.

The Neonatal Emergency Transport Service (NETS) team from Sydney will conduct a seminar on neonatal emergency care and retrieval for Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Nursing and Midwifery in Wagga Wagga on Friday 30 January. NETS is well known in rural NSW as the team flies to hospitals in Wagga Wagga and outlying areas to stabilise and transport sick babies to major hospitals for specialist care. “The seminar is for student midwives returning to a residential school at CSU after six months of clinical practice. The School has also invited 20 local midwives to attend. We see it as very important to participate in and promote the ongoing education of nurses and midwives,” Ms Shackleton said. “Most nurses and midwives in rural hospitals will have participated in the retrieval of a sick baby by the NETS team. These babies are usually very tiny and sick, so they require the highest level of professional nursing and medical care to achieve the best possible outcome.”