The lives of parasites will be under the microscope in a new exhibition at the Museum of the Riverina in Wagga Wagga. Through its School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences in Wagga Wagga, Charles Sturt University (CSU) is an exhibition partner in Parasites in Focus from Wednesday 1 September until Wednesday 23 February 2011. After a tour of capital centres, the exhibition comes to Wagga Wagga at the Museum’s Botanic Garden site in Baden Powell Drive. It features spectacular photographic prints and interactive exhibits which gives a rare glimpse into the world of parasites. Head of Campus at CSU in Wagga Wagga Mr Adrian Lindner will open the exhibition at 6.30pm on Wednesday 1 September. There will be a special school holiday program for children aged eight years and above on Wednesday 6 October from 10am to 12midday. Bookings are required on 02 6926 9554. Read more about the Museum of the Riverina here.  

Crime scenes are scattered across Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga this week as students study the finer art of criminal and forensic investigations. About 40 students are attending a four-day residential school at CSU in Wagga Wagga from Tuesday 24 August to Friday 27 August for the distance education subject, Crime Scene. The residential school includes lectures on physical evidence, its collection and preservation and coroner’s courts. From 1.30pm to 4.30pm on each day of the residential school, the students will go out into the field to examine various crime scene scenarios set up with mannequins to test practical skills.  

With the cost of the Federal election running into the tens of millions of dollars, two Charles Sturt University (CSU) academics have spoken out in favour of voting online, stating it would be cheaper, secure and more efficient. “Australians are able to do their taxes online, bank online and even register to vote online,” lecturers Mr Geoff Fellows and Mr Ken Eustace said. “Yet Australians still turn up to polling stations around the country and have their names crossed off the roll in pencil and then mark their ballot papers in pencil. The technology is there for the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) to conduct the poll online. Voters could use their Medicare numbers to vote at portable ATM-style machines. The votes could still be scrutinised and it may reduce the number of voters who mistakenly vote informal if the system ensures invalid votes are authorised. Voters could also vote from home by pre-registering their computer and then voting through a special website. The AEC could even charge the political parties to have links from the special site to election material.”

An official copy of the Australian Government’s apology to child migrants in the 1900s will be displayed at the Learning Commons at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange.  With many Central West residents holding strong memories of Fairbridge Farm in Molong - one of the locations where child migrants from the United Kingdom were housed - the apology offered many a sense of closure to a dark time in Australia’s history. “Charles Sturt University in Orange is pleased to have this framed apology on display,” Head of Campus in Orange Professor Kevin Parton said. “It is an important part of our modern history and serves as a reminder to those studying here that events like this have happened.” The child migrants were from care institutions in the UK. Agencies involved in the child migration were Barnados and Fairbridge as well as agencies representing the Catholic and Protestant churches. Child and youth migration to NSW ended in 1967.

Local researchers and international guests will gather in Wagga Wagga to challenge current thinking about energy and its consumption. Attending a workshop in the city on Monday 30 August are members of a group of multi-disciplinary researchers who hail from the Institute for Land, Water and Society at Charles Sturt University (CSU). “The 'big' question the researchers are asking is: What can we learn from the present and the past to help people overcome energy constraints and share our resources equitably?” conference organiser, Adjunct Professor Ian Gray from the ILWS said.  At 9am on Monday 30 August at the Riverine Club in Sturt Street, Wagga Wagga, Professor Gray will welcome delegates to the three-day event, including historian Professor Colin Divall from the University of York in the United Kingdom, Professor Hans-Luidger Dienel and Dr Massimo Moraglio, both from Germany’s Berlin Technical University.

Rural health professionals will take advantage of the modern facilities when they visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange this Thursday 26 August to conduct training. Eleven nursing assistants from Orange will use CSU’s simulation hospital as part of their Certificate III in Health Services Assistance. Nurse educator for the Greater Western Area Health Service’s (GWAHS) Centre for Rural and Remote Education, Ms Trish Casey, said, “The facilities are a wonderful asset when it comes to training local professionals”. Skills laboratory attendant with the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at CSU in Orange, Ms Sarah Strutt, hopes the ongoing relationship between the two institutions can continue to grow. “Charles Sturt University puts a lot of emphasis on these types of relationships. It gives both parties the opportunity to develop and ensures our regional communities benefit.”  

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is embracing the establishment in Wagga Wagga of the new Australian Aviation Hall of Fame. As one of the founding members of the Hall of Fame, the Head of Campus at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr Adrian Lindner, will address its official opening on Tuesday 24 August at the Civic Theatre in Wagga Wagga. “Our involvement in the national Hall of Fame to honour the aviation industry comes as Charles Sturt University explores the introduction of a postgraduate aviation course,” Mr Lindner said. “It is also envisaged that the Charles Sturt University Library and Regional Archives will be providing advice on collecting, displaying and storing archival material.” Professor Mark Farrell from the Faculty of Arts said, “Charles Sturt University is working closely with industry representatives to develop a Graduate Certificate in Aviation Management and also a Master of Business Administration (Aviation Management).”

Nursing is the focus of a careers night to be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo on Wednesday 1 September. Ms Cathy Maginnis, academic advisor for the Bachelor of Nursing at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at CSU in Dubbo, said, “The evening provides the opportunity for anyone interested in a nursing career to get expert information from the guest speakers about the courses available at Charles Sturt University. Prospective students will be able to learn about the campus, and speak to nursing students,  graduates and staff about the course and career options.” Enquiries about the nursing careers information evening can be made to Ms Kellie Butler, Administration and Clinical Placements Assistant at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health at CSU in Dubbo on 02 6885 7321 or send an email.

Tickets for the inaugural fund-raising dinner for the Tony McGrane Memorial Scholarship at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo on Friday 24 September are on sale for $120 each, with all proceeds going to the scholarship fund. Head of Campus in Dubbo, Dr Beverley Moriarty, said, “Former Dubbo Mayor Tony McGrane’s legacy continues to serve the people of Dubbo and the region, and it is fitting that the memorial scholarship fund we are establishing in his name will ensure students from western NSW will be able to gain a university education. We’re also delighted to have received the portrait of Tony McGrane by artist Ms Leonie Sainsbury, to be on display at the dinner.” To purchase tickets to the dinner please contact Ms Christine Stewart at CSU on 02 6885 7370 or send an email. Businesses and community members who wish to support the Tony McGrane Memorial Scholarship can obtain sponsorship details from Dr Moriarty or Ms Stewart.