Charles Sturt University (CSU) staff and students are being encouraged to express on film their ideas for environmental sustainability. The Eco Literacy Film Festival aims to showcase short, three-minute films exploring how the University can reduce its environmental footprint in areas of biodiversity, energy and transport, waste water and pollution, and food and produce. Festival Co-ordinator, Ms Natasha Hard said a total of $6 000 in prizes is on offer and the films will be shown in an online and on campus film festival later in the year. “Anyone who has a phone can make a film and make a difference,” she said. “By celebrating some of the great things being done and highlighting new opportunities, we hope to support interest and action in the area of sustainability across Charles Sturt University.” The festival is funded by a grant from CSU Green. Entries close at 11.59pm on Friday 6 July. Read more about the Eco Literacy Film Festival here.

Students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange and Wagga Wagga recently returned from a remote cattle station where they gained firsthand experience in their chosen profession. A group of 15 fourth year Bachelor of Pharmacy  students set off from Wagga Wagga at 6am on April 15 along with lecturers Professor Patrick Ball and Ms Hana Morrissey. The group met Mr John Nolan from CSU’s Centre for Indigenous Studies for a first cultural briefing over lunch in Dubbo before continuing their journey.  They travelled a total of 830 kilometers to Moglia Station, nine kilometres north east of Goodooga, NSW, where they met with station owner Mr Michael Anderson and his wife Ms Jutta Anderson. Mr Anderson (Nyoongar Ghurradjong Murri Ghillar) is the leader of the Euahlayi tribe, a trained lawyer and Aboriginal rights campaigner. “The students had firsthand experience of the Aboriginal cultural, the rural Australian way of living and the remote health system pros and cons,” said Professor Ball. “The students visited local health facilities at Walgett, Collarenebri and Brewarrina and shared barbecue lunches with Aboriginal communities from Weimoringle and Goodooga. The information passed from the community elders to students was priceless.”

To understand what it is like to be a person with a disability is the aim of a course at Charles Sturt University (CSU) where four people with disabilities act as tutors for CSU students in the third year of their speech pathology degrees. As part of the 2012 program, groups of students will present the life story of their tutor in a creative performance for the tutors, their families and other CSU students, to be held in the Gums Café at CSU in Albury-Wodonga on Thursday 31 May starting at 10.15am. Program coordinator and occupational therapy lecturer, Dr Ruth Beecham, said the presentations will use imagination as well as media such as theatre, cinema, and pictures or literary expression. “We want our students to totally focus on their future clients, and what their clients want from them. Teaching students to listen carefully and respond creatively is a great way of developing these skills,” Dr Beecham said. “We need to see problems from a number of perspectives, instead of rushing headlong into ‘solutions’, and take time to explore issues.”

MyDay at Charles Sturt University in Orange, to be held on Monday 4 June, has attracted high school students from Sydney, Canberra, and north and south coast regions all keen to experience life as a health sciences student. Highlighting courses in dentistry, physiotherapy, clinical science and pharmacy, the day introduces students to the campus known as the health hub of the University. Students will gain hands-on experience in the health clinics, meet with academics and tertiary students and tour the campus. MyDay offers high school students the unique opportunity to experience a day in the life of a university student and provides key information on support available to make their goals achievable. On the same day an Agriculture HSC enrichment day will be held for those studying agriculture in the HSC.

Approximately 800 high school students from across the Riverina are due at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Friday 15 June for the annual HSC English Study Day. Thirty-five lectures, workshops and discussion panels are being planned on texts and topics being studied by the Standard and Advanced English students. The sessions, which will run from 9.30am to 2.20pm, will be presented mostly by English teachers from regional high schools and academics from CSU’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences. “There is always a buzz of excitement and fun to the HSC English Study Day. The students are grateful to get another perspective on the work they’re concentrating on for the HSC. For the teachers and trainee teachers, it’s a professional development occasion,” said HSC English Study Day coordinator Mr David Gilbey from the University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences. The HSC English Study Day is being organised by the Wagga Wagga Branch of the English Teachers Association in association with Booranga Writers’ Centre at CSU.

As part of its expanded regional training program, the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) will be at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Friday 15 June to offer an intensive one-day screenwriting course. Playwright and AFTRS screenwriting lecturer Dr Carl Caulfield will present the course using clips and scripts from well-known classic and modern era films – from Citizen Kane, to Slumdog Millionaire and The King’s Speech - to guide participants through the processes, techniques and tools used to tell a compelling story. AFTRS OPEN Regional Manager Mr Martin Corben said, “Screenwriting Part One is just the beginning for those wanting to develop their film skills as this course explores not only the ‘story’ but the importance of its structure, how to build scenes, suspense and captivating characters. The AFTRS course is supported by Eastern Riverina Arts and the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU. The course runs from 9am to 5pm in the theatrette, building 21, School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Wagga Wagga.

Forget the Eiffel Tower and Buckingham Palace, a group of students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will spend their European tripvisiting world class biomedical research institutions. The 22 students from CSU’s School of Biomedical Sciences will spend more than three-weeks during June visiting leading research and teaching facilities in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and  Switzerland. CSU Pharmacy program leader Mr George K John said the trip is a once in a lifetime opportunity for students to gain a broader understanding of global health issues and highlight the careers available in health sciences. “Students will see cutting edge research and teaching in areas of biomedical sciences like biotechnology, microbiology, nutrition and pharmaceutical sciences,” he said. Highlights of the itinerary include workshops and interactive sessions at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, The World Health Organisation in Geneva, the Nestle Research Institute in Lausanne and Max Planck Institute in Munich.

A first year accounting student at Charles Sturt University (CSU) has made it to the finals of a national marketing competition to promote the computer technology known as Kinect. Based on an assignment for the subject Marketing and Society, Mr Will Gummer from Junee entered the Microsoft Protégé Challenge, which is open to undergraduate students in Australia. The challenge involves the marketing of the Kinect application for use outside the gaming industry such as in health or education. Mr Gummer recently made it through to the competition’s semi finals with a 10 minute presentation via video-conference. “I did my proposal on the Virtual Distance Learning Classroom, which is a Kinect application designed for distance education students. It puts both the lecturer and students into a virtual classroom where they can see their 3D images. These avatars can raise their hand if they have a question and can also use computer-simulated visual cues,” said Mr Gummer. Marketing lecturer Ms Elizabeth Dunlop said, “This is an outstanding achievement for a first year student to make it though to the finals of the national competition. Will should be congratulated for taking on this ‘real-life’ marketing challenge during one of his early subjects for his degree.”

An expert panel that includes a Charles Sturt University (CSU) specialist in agricultural extension and training will discuss the future of family farming at a public forum to be held in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 20 June. The forum, Has the Family Farm a Future?, will provide an opportunity for family farmers to come together and share their views about the future. The forum will be hosted by ABC Riverina’s Ms Anne Delaney. CSU history and politics lecturer and the event’s co-organiser, Dr Troy Whitford, said that with 90 per cent of Australian farms owned and operated by families, it was of national importance to keep the next generation of farmers on the land. “At present, many of our young people are leaving the farm in pursuit of more lucrative employment, particularly in mining. We hope this forum will highlight the need to assist family farms maintain their business,” Dr Whitford said. The forum will start at 7pm on Wednesday 20 June at the Wagga Wagga RSL Club, Dobbs Street, Wagga Wagga.