There was a genuine display of delight and surprise by first-year Charles Sturt University (CSU) student, Ms Courtney Turner, when the 18 year old learnt of her $20 000 win in the ‘You + CSU’ competition. While at work for Australia Post in Wagga Wagga this week, Ms Turner was told she had won the competition. After attending Kooringal High School in 2012, Ms Turner received an early offer to study a Bachelor of Physiotherapy at CSU in Albury-Wodonga this year. In its second year, the ‘You + CSU’ competition required entrants to upload a video describing what their ultimate CSU experience would be like. In addition to winning $20 000 towards the cost of her first year education expenses, Ms Turner is the University’s Digital Ambassador for 2013. Ms Turner has credited one of the ideas in her video to her father. “My careers advisor at school let me know about the competition in the middle of last year,” Ms Turner said. “During a subsequent family brainstorming session, my father came up with the idea of world domination and I thought to use a white board and the Ten Commandments. Winning this competition will not only benefit me but help ease the financial pressure on my family at home.” Ms Turner plans to live on campus at Thurgoona during her first year at CSU. You can watch Ms Turner’s reaction to her win and view her winning 'Me + CSU = World Domination!' video here. Further information about how to apply to study at CSU is available here.

Growing up in Indonesia and New Zealand, Ms Jessica Sampson did not see much of an Australian farm. But she is now looking to carve a career in agriculture through a new partnership between Charles Sturt University (CSU), Goulburn Ovens TAFE (GOTAFE) and the National Centre for Dairy Education Australia (NCDEA) that provides pathways to university study. Having worked her way through administrative positions with the Landmark agribusiness company in Wangaratta, Ms Sampson is now looking to complete a part-time agriculture degree with CSU via distance education, while she works full-time and raises two children. “I first moved to Wangaratta when I had my first son eight years ago and opened a chocolate shop in Milawa with my sister, which I ran for five years. I started working in agriculture in early 2011 and have loved every minute of it, completing my Diploma of Agriculture with GOTAFE in 2012,” Ms Sampson said. “I want to be an agronomist and am lucky to have some great mentors in the Landmark network, which allows me to continuously learn, get out in the field and put my knowledge to the test.”

Charles Sturt University's (CSU) Regional and Remote Learning Support Team is gearing up to help students living in some of the most remote areas of New South Wales through the 2013 study year. Regional and remote student support advisor Ms Lois Watt, based at CSU in Dubbo, is the latest addition to the team and said the goal was to help students stay engaged and successful in their studies. “Our aim is to make studying with Charles Sturt University by distance education a positive experience for students living in regional and remote areas of the state by helping students stay engaged with the University and ensuring they have the skills they need to succeed in their studies,” Ms Watt said. “This team understands the complexities of studying via distance education in regional and remote areas as they have had similar experiences themselves.” Ms Watt, a New Zealander who recently settled in Australia after working on a tertiary education project in Bahrain, said the Regional and Remote Learning Support team visited towns across the state to hold study sessions with distance education students on a range of topics. “The team can provide support with skills like assignment writing, note-taking, reading skills, online learning, and time management,” she said. “We will either work with students face-to-face, or, when we are not able to visit, we can use email, Facebook, online chat, Skype, telephone or video connections to answer enquiries and offer support. “We also work with Study Centres at Griffith, Parkes and Broken Hill, which allow students to access computers and the internet and are staffed to provide support.” When not ‘on the road’ Ms Watt provides academic support to students studying at CSU in Dubbo.

Regional Victorians are now able to pursue opportunities to further their careers in agriculture through a new partnership between Charles Sturt University (CSU), Goulburn Ovens TAFE (GOTAFE) and the National Centre for Dairy Education Australia (NCDEA) that provides pathways to University for TAFE graduates. Mr Jake Frecklington, now living in Gippsland, grew up on a 300 acre dairy and beef cattle farm his family purchased near Shepparton in 1992. “I didn’t have an ENTER score that would allow me to go to university, but I got a ‘summer’ job packing cherries at a local shed, which turned into a full-time job for two years. I then decided to complete an Advanced Diploma of Agriculture with GOTAFE, and graduated in 2010,” Mr Frecklington said. After working for two years for a stockfeed company in Gippsland during which time he advanced to the position of territory manager, Mr Frecklington moved into an advisory role with Rural Skills Australia. He then made a decision to further his education, and was pleased to find that the new collaboration between GOTAFE and CSU would enable him to undertake his university studies in regional Victoria, with credit granted for his previous agriculture qualifications. “I am undertaking a Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management with Charles Sturt University to increase my opportunities for a career in the agricultural service sector. Studying via distance education allows me to continue work while upgrading my skills, and Wangaratta is much closer to Gippsland than Wagga Wagga!” he said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will close for the Christmas-New Year break from 12.30pm on Friday 21 December and will re-open on Wednesday 2 January 2013. Best wishes to all our readers from the CSU Media team.

Well known Australian social researcher, Dr Hugh Mackay, has urged Charles Sturt University (CSU) graduates to “stay connected” during his occasional address at a ceremony in Wagga Wagga on Tuesday 11 December. Dr Mackay delivered his speech to 272 graduates from the Faculty of Arts. Dr Mackay told the students that within the next 15 years, Australian households will have shrunk to the point where about one-third of households will contain only one person. “Although many people choose to live alone, and do so quite happily – at least for some period of their lives – others experience feelings of aching loneliness, isolation and even alienation,” he said. “During your working lives, about 40 per cent of contemporary marriages will have dissolved, and about 25 per cent of dependent children will be raised by only one of their natural parents. Social indicators like those and many others point to increasing dislocation and fragmentation, a continuation of our well-documented epidemics of anxiety and depression, and growing problems of marginalisation and social exclusion.” Dr Mackay told the graduates that they were needed because Australia needs “creative artists to inspire and entertain us, teachers to expand our horizons and help us set our priorities, and welfare and human services workers to support us and bind up our wounds”. Dr Mackay added that a degree from CSU had given graduates training in a specialised field of knowledge and practice that would open doors to many jobs but he said the most important thing was to remain connected to the people we work with and the people we love. Read Dr Mackay’s full Occasional Address by clicking here. Read more about graduation at CSU in Wagga Wagga in December 2012 here.

Delegates from Changzhou University in Jiangsu, China, were impressed when they visited Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on a recent fact finding mission. Head of Campus at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr Adrian Lindner welcomed the group on Friday 14 December, telling them CSU was interested in developing a long-term collaborative relationship with Changzhou University, located about 200 kilometres northwest of Shanghai. “Changzhou University has a fruit and table grape growing program and the delegation was interested in how we have developed our wine science and agricultural science practices,” Mr Lindner said. While at CSU, the group toured the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre, the EH Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, as well as CSU’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences and the new National Life Science Hub (NaLSH). Mr Lindner said delegation members showed a lot of interest in undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, professional development for academic staff and research programs for a new School of Food Safety. “It’s early days yet but the group was impressed with Charles Sturt University’s approach and results for teaching and researching agricultural production and specifically how they could develop a wine tourism industry.” 

Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Vinten, a manufacturer of broadcast equipment, have celebrated a decade of supporting television production students. Through the Charles Sturt University Foundation, the company has funded scholarships for the past 10 years. Now valued at $3 000, the Vinten Scholarship is awarded annually to a second and third year Bachelor of Arts (Television Production) students. Two students are selected after being tested on their knowledge of using a Vinten Studio Camera Pedestal. In 2012, Vinten scholarships were awarded to students Mr Cal Wood from Melbourne and Ms Natasha Cleary from Sydney. Mr Wood said, "My goal of becoming a professional camera operator is now a step closer. Winning this award means that my primary skill as a camera operator will be improved by a broader understanding of crew roles in a studio.” Ms Cleary thanked Vinten for her scholarship, adding, “It means that I can continue my studies with ease and it has given me even more motivation to do the very best in my studies". Vinten Strategic Planning and Project Manager, Mr Andrew Butler, said, "Our 10 years of supporting Charles Sturt University students reflects the outstanding work by the University in preparing world-class camera operators. The scholarship scheme demonstrates our commitment to producing the industry’s future talent, and we’re proud that we have been able to contribute financially as well as supporting the students learning their skills using Vinten equipment in partnership with the University."

Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the NSW Department of Education and Communities have joined forces to gather the best and brightest Year 9 students from across the Riverina region to compete for the Riverina Debating Challenge Cup. The University will host the 2012 Riverina Debating Festival on Wednesday 12 December at CSU in Albury-Wodonga with 45 students accompanied by staff from high schools in Albury, Corowa, Finley and Wagga Wagga. Students will also take part in expert workshops with senior adjudicators to discuss the finer points of preparing for and delivering a speech as part of a debating team. “This is an exciting opportunity for talented students to be challenged by their peers in a high-quality debating contest,” said event coordinator and lecturer with CSU’s School of Education, Mr Paul Grover.