Cold climate wine grapes from the slopes of Switzerland are different to those grown in Riverina vineyards but a group of Swiss university students will be sampling the local wine during a visit to Charles Sturt University (CSU). CSU will be hosting 21 students from The University of Applied Sciences (UAS) Changins in Switzerland from Monday 25 June to Sunday 1 July. The students will take part in a wine tasting class at the National Wine and Grape Industry Centre (NWGIC)  , tour CSU research facilities and visit vineyards and wineries in Griffith. CSU Bachelor of Viticulture and Wine Science students will then join their Swiss counterparts on a tour of wine regions in Victoria and South Australia. It’s part of a Memorandum of Understanding between CSU’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences  and UAS in Switzerland. “This kind of exchange gives our students greater understanding of grape growing and wine production in other parts of the world,” Professor in Viticulture Chris Steel said. “The knowledge gained through collaborative research will also be incorporated into courses here.”  CSU plans to return the visit to UAS in Switzerland in 2013.

The inaugural NSW Commissioner for Small Business, Ms Yasmin King will attend a seminar in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 27 June as part of a series of information sessions to assist local small businesses. The Small Business Management Foundations Seminars are co-hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Wagga Wagga City Council. Guest speakers include Ms King and Mr Duncan Rutherford, a causal lecturer from the University’s School of Management and Marketing, and consultant in the field of organisational change and change management. The seminar, the third in the series, explores human resources issues within the context of small businesses. It will offer participants an overview of common human resource challenges and best practice frameworks. The seminar will run from 5.30pm to 7.30pm in the Civic Centre, Baylis Street in Wagga Wagga. Read more about the series and CSU’s Graduate Certificate in Small Business Management here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) continues to develop its Orange Campus, now opening a new cellar door to showcase the range of CSU wines. CSU Winery  marketing manager Mr Justin Byrne says the cellar door will give the community the opportunity to sample and buy the University wines. "We have the full range of wines in stock including our sparkling and fortified wines," he said. CSU’s award-winning winemaker Mr Andrew Drumm has been keen to open a cellar door in Orange since the University acquired the vineyard. "Orange is growing some great fruit and producing some excellent wines and we are a small but important player in the region so it's good to be able to show off our work," Mr Drumm said. The CSU Winery Cellar Door is open Friday to Sunday from 11am to 4pm. For more information contact Mr Byrne on 02 6365 7643.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will host one of two forums in Albury on Wednesday 20 June looking at whether Australia is making a difference with its international aid programs. Organised by the international World Vision charity, four speakers closely involved with overseas aid projects will address the successes and challenges of working with the world’s poor as they face hunger, malnutrition and disease, and how the Australian government’s $5.2 billion aid budget for 2012/13 could best be spent. CSU will host a daytime event between 1-2pm for school students and the public in the CD Blake Lecture Theatre on the University’s Albury-Wodonga Campus at Thurgoona, while a second evening event for the Border community will be staged in the Albury Entertainment Centre, Swift Street, Albury.

About 90 Year 11 and 12 students from 44 high schools across the region, and from as far away as Nyngan, Albury and Campbelltown, will attend a MyDay at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Tuesday 19 June to learn about future study options in psychology, policing, and justice studies. CSU prospective student adviser Ms Fran Dwyer said, “We’re delighted to have such a positive response from so many schools from around the state. It demonstrates strong interest in these important disciplines, and highlights the high regard for courses at Charles Sturt University”. Students will be able to discuss their interests with lecturers and current students, and will be provided with information about the Bachelor of Psychology, Bachelor of Justice Studies (Policing), Bachelor of Social Science (Criminal Justice), and the Associate Degree in Policing Practice.

Vice-Chancellor Ian Goulter last week announced the academic promotions round for 2006. Professor Goulter singled out Associate Professor Geoffrey Gurr from the School of Rural Management and Dr Lexin Wang from the School of Biomedical Sciences who have both been promoted to Professor Level E. “I congratulate these academic staff members on their achievements and contribution to the success of Charles Sturt University,” he said. CSU researcher and academic cardiologist Dr Wang is also an Honorary Professor of Cardiology at Taishan Medical College in China. “I’m really pleased, but there are more challenges ahead. We are still conducting a number of very high-profile studies on heart disease and my research group has had some major impact in the field of cardiovascular medicine. At CSU we are running a very strong pharmacology discipline which has been expanded quite substantially in the last eight years or so, and I think that is another major achievement.”

Enthusiastic robotics students from eight primary and secondary schools across the region will marshal their talents at the 2012 Central West RoboCup Junior Challenge when the annual robotics competition returns to Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Thursday 14 June. Mr Allen Benter, the coordinator of the competition who is also a PhD student and researcher at the CSU Centre for Research in Complex Systems (CRiCS) in Bathurst, said, “Last year’s event was staged at Charles Sturt University in Orange, and this year we expect about 60 students to build and operate mini robots on the day. University staff have been judges at previous RoboCup events and have provided technical advice to students and their teachers. It’s great to see that students and schools in the region have embraced the concept and the opportunity that the RoboCup offers, as robotics is an important and rapidly developing field.”

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.

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.”