There will be a special graduation ceremony for one Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduate due to his inability to attend the ceremonies in Wagga Wagga last month. Mr Simon Stanbouli is an inmate at the Wellington Correctional Centre in central west NSW. While in custody he completed a Bachelor of Business (Business Management) with Distinction. “A number of obstacles faced this student during his distance education studies including no access to the internet, the need to submit handwritten assignments and his inability to speak directly with his lecturer,” said Dr Padma Nathan from the School of Business at CSU in Wagga Wagga. “It is no mean task to score a High Distinction or a Distinction in any subject, and yet Simon managed these grades in virtually every subject at Charles Sturt University. Credit is also due to all the academic and administrative staff who have acknowledged the difficulties Simon faced and endeavoured to go out of their way to help him.”

Interest in the 7th annual Australian International Animation Festival has reached unprecedented levels with more than 2 200 submissions received from 40 countries for the event in regional NSW. Hosted by the Animation and Visual Effects program at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga, the Festival will be held from Friday 14 May to Sunday 16 May at the Forum 6 Cinema in Wagga Wagga. The program includes international films, digital animation, stop motion and Australian made films. Young children are catered for in the Festival line-up as well as a ‘Late Night Bizarre’ show. There will also be free talks and workshops from local and international filmmakers. The full program can be found here.

Preparing students for life in the workplace, with suitable knowledge and skills, work readiness and understanding of occupational culture, has long been recognised as vital by higher education providers. A Charles Sturt University (CSU) academic has raised the issue of what knowledge and skills university educators need to take workplace education forward in the current global era. Professor Joy Higgs AM has received one of nine Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Teaching Fellowships to examine what makes good workplace education and to encourage the widespread use of good practice in universities nationally. “The aim is to better prepare students for the complex workplaces of today,” said Professor Higgs, Director of CSU’s Education for Practice Institute. “Known as practice-based education, it’s a vital part of the education of university students, but there is much of this teaching and learning that is invisible, such as how teachers make decisions about teaching in classrooms. A key goal of this fellowship is to identify and disseminate good practices.”

The way teachers are ‘made’ in 2010 is the subject of a free public lecture at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst at 6pm Wednesday 12 May. The Head of the CSU School of Teacher Education in Bathurst, Associate Professor Ninetta Santoro, will take a historical perspective to understand the present in her lecture examining The Making of Teachers: Teacher Education for the Twenty-First Century. “I will consider what it means to be a student teacher in 2010 compared to past generations, and what effective teacher education might look like in the future,” Professor Santoro said. “The nature of teachers’ work and knowledge has undergone enormous change in recent years due to a wide range of factors including increasingly complex student demographics, developments in information technology, and the ways in which knowledge is produced and transmitted. Australian classrooms are more culturally diverse than ever before, students are more technologically savvy, and school curricula are increasingly complex and expansive.”

International graffiti artist Moose will leave a lasting legacy in Wagga Wagga after a visit to the city hosted by the School of Communication and Creative Industries at Charles Sturt University (CSU) this week. The artist, also known as Paul Curtis, makes his ‘legal graffiti’ by wiping away dirt and pollution from public spaces to form large type and shapes. With the approval of Wagga Wagga City Council, and the support of local businesses Advision and Knights Meats, Moose will create what is known as ‘reverse graffiti’ on a wall in Fitzmaurice Street in Wagga Wagga on Friday 14 May. Earlier, the artist will share his experiences and ideas at a public lecture at CSU in Wagga Wagga from 1pm on Thursday 13 May. He will then meet with CSU’s final year Bachelor of Arts (Graphic Design) students to workshop ideas for the ‘reverse graffiti’ piece near Knights Meats on Friday 14 May. “This is a rare opportunity to see and hear the work of Moose whose ‘reverse graffiti’ is internationally acclaimed,” said Graphic Design course coordinator at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr Michael Agzarian.

The potential health risk of rural drinking water was the topic of a talk Charles Sturt University (CSU) researcher Dr Andrea Crampton gave to Rotarians in Wagga Wagga last month. Dr Crampton, who is a member of CSU’s Institute for Land, Water and Society (ILWS)  found that more than 50 per cent of rural tank water drinkers were drinking water that exceeded the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. In one instance the level of E.coli was 230 times the acceptable limit. Interviews with participants in the study identified a need for more information on potential risks and how to reduce those risks, steps already known but not communicated effectively to the rural community. “Not surprisingly most were more than happy for the government to stay away from their water supplies, preferring to manage their own systems but in a more informed manner,” Dr Crampton said.

The new Dental and Oral Health Clinic at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga is fulfilling its mission to address the rural dental shortage. Following the Clinic’s official opening at the end of 2009, the first intake of oral health students are treating patients under the tutoring of Clinic Director, Ms Helen Tane, lecturer Ms Simone Alexander, with supervision by Dr Kathleen Matthews. “The students in the Bachelor of Oral Health (Therapy/Hygiene) are currently treating teenagers from local high schools and will soon move on to treat primary school-aged children,” Ms Tane said. “The free consultations for the paediatric patients include a routine check-up, X-rays, and the implementation of an oral health plan if necessary. There are appointments available and Charles Sturt University would welcome any younger patients.” The Clinic is also accepting adult patients, who are required to see the qualified CSU Dentist Dr Kathleen Matthews before they’re referred to an oral health student under supervision. Clinic appointments can be made by telephoning 1300 278 642.

Work on a pig farm in southern NSW during student placements from 2005 to 2008 encouraged a Charles Sturt University (CSU) veterinary science student’s interest in the pork industry and has led to her being awarded an all-expenses paid study trip to Canada. Fifth-year Bachelor of Veterinary Science student Ms Jill Groat has been named the winner of the Australian pork industry’s biennial Doug Ross Travel and Study Award. Supported by Australian Pork Ltd, the award honours the late veterinarian Mr Doug Ross and his work for the pig industry. Ms Groat is the first student to win the award, which she will use to attend the International Pig Veterinary Society Congress in Vancouver, Canada, from Sunday 18 to Tuesday 20 July, and to build contacts in the industry. From the small town of Rankins Springs in the Riverina, Ms Groat gained her first experience working with pigs during voluntary work experience at a piggery at Young the year before she began the veterinary science course at CSU in Wagga Wagga. “The award is very exciting and I particularly hope to bring back knowledge about the management of pigs in cold climates,” Ms Groat said.

A mental health worker from the remote Pilbara region of Australia’s far northwest has been honoured by Charles Sturt University (CSU) for her achievements in the unique Djirruwang Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health Program. Ms Katie Papertalk is the first Western Australian student in the University’s Bachelor of Health Science (Mental Health) degree to receive a Faculty of Science Dean’s Award. Students who have achieved consistent Distinctions or High Distinctions are nominated for the award. In a ceremony in the Marr Mooditj Foundation garden in Perth, Ms Papertalk was presented the Dean’s Award by the Djirruwang Program Director Mr Wayne Rigby. “Receiving a Dean’s Award is a proud moment for any student and for an Aboriginal student it is an honour for themselves as well as their family and community,” Mr Rigby said. Since its inception as a pilot program in southern NSW in 1994, the Djirruwang Program has graduated 111 mental health workers. “With the support of the WA Department of Health, Charles Sturt University expects a record student intake from Western Australia in 2011,” said Mr Rigby.