Charles Sturt University (CSU) Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Vann will meet with community leaders from the Bathurst region to discuss how CSU can deliver more benefits for the town and community. Professor Vann will host the Vice-Chancellor’s Regional Leaders Luncheon at CSU in Bathurst on September 10 for community leaders and partners, with a view to strengthening partnerships in the region. Professor Vann said the luncheon was an opportunity to discuss how the University could work more closely with community and business groups. “The luncheon will bring together community leaders and partners to discuss the contribution of Charles Sturt University,” he said. “More importantly, it will provide an opportunity for the community to tell us about the opportunities they see for the University to contribute and identify the challenges we can work together to overcome.” Guests will be invited to contribute thoughts and suggestions during the luncheon, which will be held in the Grange Chancellery at CSU in Bathurst, from noon-2pm.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange will host a very special graduation on Tuesday 3 September, when 60 primary school students don mortar boards as part of a Check It Out day. Year 6 students from Peak Hill Central School, Tullamore Central School and Trangie Central School will spend the day on campus participating in a selection of workshops to give them first-hand experience of university life. The Check It Out days are part of CSU’s Future Moves program, which aims to encourage aspiration for higher education among students in rural and remote NSW and Victoria. Future Moves coordinator Ms Tonya Graham said the students would engage in fun, interactive workshops involving nursing, human movement, biomedical science and botany. The day will wrap up with students dressing in graduation attire for a mini-graduation. “The program is directed at students who have the potential to succeed in tertiary education and who come from families with little or no experience of higher education,” Ms Graham said. “Events like the Check It Out days are a great way to start a conversation with students and their families about what options are available to them after school.”

TAFE students curious about further study at university will find out what’s involved at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 3 September. The CU@CSU event is an opportunity for prospective students to find out about CSU entry pathways, support services and scholarships. CSU Marketing Officer for Partnerships, Ms Amanda Tarbit, said more than 30 per cent of CSU’s new commencing students are admitted on the basis of previous TAFE qualifications. “We understand the challenges students face in moving from TAFE to university study, we highly value TAFE qualifications, and the fact we offer scholarships of $2 500 demonstrates our commitment to this particular cohort of students.” CSU has a large range of credit arrangements with the TAFE NSW Riverina Institute and offers guaranteed entry into many undergraduate courses for students who have completed a TAFE Diploma or Advanced Diploma. Read more here.

With spring just around the corner, a number of new foals are finding their feet at the Equine Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. Second year Bachelor of Equine Science students from the University’s School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences in Wagga Wagga are assigned mares throughout the spring breeding season as part of the subject, Equine Reproduction and Breeding Management. The latest foal sired by Connemara pony stallion Glenormiston Celtic Pride made its way into the world on Wednesday night 28 August. The filly, from mare Zilla, is the fourth foal from two CSU stallions. Six foals are expected by the end of the breeding season. Equine science students Ms Elizabeth Furniss from Darwin, Ms Candice Duddek from Bathurst and Mr Caleb Lock from Kempsey were charged with managing all aspects of Zilla and handling her new foal. They spent Thursday morning 29 August admiring the foal which they named Brid – a Celtic name meaning power, strength and vigour.   

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga is hosting its final MyDay for 2013 on Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 August. The creative industry courses available through the University’s School of Communication and Creative Industries will be on show for Year 10 students from local schools. The University has hosted 24 MyDays throughout 2013 for high school students so they can get a taste of ‘living and learning’ at University. Courses on show at CSU in Wagga Wagga next week including acting for screen and stage, animation and visual effects, design for theatre and television, fine arts, graphic design, photography and television production. About 100 students from 12 high schools across the Riverina are scheduled to visit CSU from 10am to 2pm. As part of their University experience, they will get to visit facilities such as the broadcast standard multi-camera television studio, multi camera outside broadcast truck, the 5.1 surround post-production sound studio, photographic laboratory and the drama studio used for performances by the University Theatre Ensemble.  

A rare and spectacular Islamic art form, ‘Khayamiya’ is Egyptian Tentmaker hand-sewn appliqué. It is the most vibrant form of street art in Cairo, but rarely seen outside Egypt. “Khayamiya: Khedival to Contemporary” is the world’s first exhibition to reveal the story of the Egyptian Tentmakers from the Late Ottoman Empire to present-day Cairo. Curator Dr Sam Bowker is a lecturer in art history and visual culture for the School of Communication and Creative Industries at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. His exhibition in the University’s HR Gallop Gallery will be displayed from Monday 26 August. It is part of an international project to recognise the work of the Egyptian Tentmakers as skilled craftsmen and artists. Dr Bowker said, “For hundreds of years, Egyptian Tentmakers designed and made ‘Khayamiya’.  These intricate artworks adorned the spectacular tents of the Ottoman Empire and the Egyptian Khedives. In Cairo today, magnificent screens form colourful backdrops for street parties, weddings, Ramadan celebrations, political rallies, funerals and religious events. Sadly, these screens are now made of cheap printed fabrics that imitate real Khayamiya appliqué. The historic hand-made art now faces extinction.” Dr Bowker will host a public conversation in the Gallery from 1pm to 2pm on Tuesday 27 August. He will be on a lecture tour in the United Kingdom from Tuesday 3 to Thursday 19 September. His book, Khayamiya: The Art of the Egyptian Tentmakers will be published next year.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Vann will meet with community leaders from the Dubbo region to discuss how CSU can deliver more benefits for the town and community. Professor Vann will host the Vice-Chancellor’s Regional Leaders Luncheon at CSU in Dubbo on August 26 for community leaders and partners, with a view to strengthening partnerships in the region. Professor Vann said the luncheon was an opportunity to discuss how the University could work more closely with community and business groups. “The luncheon will bring together community leaders and partners to discuss the contribution of Charles Sturt University,” he said. “More importantly, it will provide an opportunity for the community to tell us about the opportunities they see for the University to contribute and identify the challenges we can work together to overcome.” Guests will be invited to contribute thoughts and suggestions during the luncheon, which will be held in the Explorers Café at CSU in Dubbo, from noon-2pm.

How proximity to a 'green' roof or wall affects city residents is the subject of a research project being carried out in Sydney by Charles Sturt University (CSU) student, Ms Karina Maloney. The Honours student in the School of Environmental Sciences at CSU in Albury-Wodonga is investigating residents living in or near a building that has plants growing on roofs or outside walls, and the impact it has on residents’ perceptions of the local landscape and their health. "As more Australians move to the city, the role of nature in the urban environment has become increasingly important," Ms Maloney said. "To learn more about the role of nature in urban areas, we are conducting a survey of residents in one of the three groups: those that reside in a building with a ‘green’ roof or wall; those that can see the vegetation of a nearby green roof or wall; and those that live in a nearby building and cannot see green roof or wall vegetation. We are looking for relationships between the three groups of residents in their satisfaction in the surrounding landscape, their connection to nature and their physical health.”

An opportunity to see real research ‘live’ will be given to high achieving students in Year 9 and 10 students at Kooringal High School this week at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. The 19 students will begin to develop their own research skills guided by CSU researchers when they take part in research activities in agricultural and computer sciences on Tuesday 30 July. Dr Bec Doyle from the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences will have students working in the paddock, Matt Olsen from the School of Creative Arts will have them in theatres working cameras, while PhD student Mr Saman Shafigh, from the School of Computing and Mathematics, will work with them on wireless body sensing activities. Follow the day-long excursion, CSU academics will then mentor the students on how to be successful researchers while they undertake a major project in their area of interest. The day runs from 9.30am to 2.45pm at CSU in Wagga Wagga. The program is run by COMPACT, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to create partnerships between schools, businesses, and industry, community groups and parents, families and care givers to help young people to achieve their potential.