Representatives of Charles Sturt University (CSU) and the Mitrataa Foundation will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Bathurst on Thursday 19 July to support the development of education for women and girls in Nepal. The MoU will be signed by the Vice-Chancellor and President of CSU, Professor Andrew Vann, and Ms Bec Ordish, the founding director of the Mitrataa Foundation. Ms Trisha Poole, lecturer at CSU’s School of Teacher Education in Bathurst, said the agreement lays the foundation for CSU to collaborate with the Mitrataa Foundation to help empower Nepalese women and girls through education and training initiatives. “This collaboration will encourage the organisation of joint educational activities,” Ms Poole said. “In November this year, 12 CSU teacher education students will travel to the capital Kathmandu to undertake their professional experience placements in local schools supported by the Foundation. I will accompany the group and support the students to run professional development workshops for Nepalese teachers.”

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 student attending Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange has been awarded a Rural Scholarship from the Royal Agricultural Society Foundation to help her realise her dream of becoming a regional dentist. Ms Grace Amey, 22, is in her second year of the CSU Bachelor of Dental Science and is passionate about returning to western NSW to practice dentistry once she graduates. “I work at a dental clinic in my home town of Dubbo when I’m not at uni,” Ms Amey said. “I see so many people come to the clinic from further west who have to wait months to see a dentist. There is so much demand for health professionals.” Ms Amey’s $5 000 scholarship will help her with the cost of equipment needed for her course. “It’s a big help to have this kind of support.” The RAS Rural Scholarships are available to support individuals in NSW who demonstrate a passion for rural issues and whose studies will add value to rural communities.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Ontario teaching graduate Mr Chad Pilon can’t wait to take to the classroom. Mr Pilon, who uses a wheelchair, has overcome more challenges than most in pursuing his teaching dream and said CSU has been barrier-free.  He’s full of praise for the Bachelor of Primary Education Studies (BPES) program. “Charles Sturt University really is ahead of the game in its approach,” he said. “Having a solid grounding in proven teaching strategies and new technology has given me the confidence to go to job interviews feeling fully prepared.” The BPES is a one year teacher education program that prepares students to teach in primary/junior (JK-6) classrooms in Ontario. It’s open to graduates of a three or four year degree and focuses on developing practical and professional skills based on theoretical and conceptual understandings of teaching.  Applications for the 2012 fall intake are open until 4pm Friday 18 May 2012.

Australian scholar, poet, translator and artist Dr Christopher (Kit) Kelen is the second writer-in-residence at the Booranga Writers’ Centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. Apart from poetry, Dr Kelen publishes in a range of theoretical areas including writing pedagogy, ethics, rhetoric, cultural and literary studies. For the last 11 years, he has taught Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Macau in southern China. Dr Kelen will give a poetry reading, writers’ workshop and talk about his exhibition of paintings, as to the ladders of whichway - first rungs, which is on display at the H R Gallop Gallery at CSU in Wagga Wagga.

Primary school students from Bathurst and Portland will attend special workshops at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Wednesday 23 May to help motivate them to explore study options for when they finish high school. A total of 83 Year 5 and 6 students from Bathurst West Public School, Bathurst South Public School and Portland Central School will participate in the Check It Out Day, which is part of the Future Moves program at CSU. The manager of CSU Pre-entry Programs,  Ms Sue Rogan, said, “The Check It Out Day is an exciting interactive experience for primary school students that encourages them to consider university as an option when they leave school. It exposes students at a young age to the university experience so they develop confidence to seek information about courses and pathways as they go through high school.” The six workshops will provide hands-on experiences in art and science education, sport, communication and media, nursing and paramedicine. The students will also tour the campus, participate in activities on the sports fields, and join in a mock graduation. The CSU Check It Out Day runs from 9.30am to 2.30pm Wednesday 23 May at Charles Sturt University, Panorama Avenue, Bathurst.

Seventy five Charles Sturt University (CSU) Foundation scholarships worth $142 700 in total will be presented to 70 CSU students at a luncheon ceremony in Bathurst on Friday 25 May. The ceremony will be attended by the Chancellor of CSU, Mr Lawrie Willett, AO, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Vann, the Head of Campus in Bathurst, Mr Col Sharp, and the Mayor of Bathurst, Councillor Greg Westman. Prominent guests include Ms Lyndey Milan, a food and wine broadcaster, author, TV personality and presenter of Lyndey and Blair’s Taste of Greece, who will present the inaugural Blair Milan Memorial Scholarship in honour of her son Blair, a CSU theatre/media alumnus, who died of cancer in 2011. Ms Milan will be accompanied by her partner, businessman Mr John Caldon, as well as colleagues, friends and family of Mr Blair Milan. Other inaugural CSU Foundation scholarships to be presented include the Lodge Chelmsford Masonic Scholarship, the Moree Plains Shire Council Scholarship, and the Widgiewa School Scholarship. Six students will also receive CSU Excellence Scholarships, awarded to students based on a combination of academic merit (an ATAR score of 95 and above) and evidence of demonstrated leadership and citizenship within the community.

Some of the cognitive, cultural and biological reasons for belief in extraordinary phenomena will be examined at a seminar for staff and students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Wednesday 16 May. Dr Krissy Wilson, a lecturer at the CSU School of Psychology who established a new research unit called the Science of Anomalistic Phenomena (SOAP) at CSU in March this year, will present the seminar. “Consistent and wide-spread belief in the paranormal is a striking facet of the human condition, and belief in phenomena that contradict known scientific laws and principles is a common feature of all western societies,” Dr Wilson said. “There is little evidence to suggest that widespread paranormal beliefs are on the wane, and recent polls tend to suggest that such commonly held beliefs are on the increase. Whatever the truth might be, and whatever reasons people might have about why they believe, there can be little doubt that believers are not basing their beliefs upon scientific evidence. Indeed, most of the evidence put forward to support paranormal claims is anecdotal and open to alternative explanations.”

Students from the ACT, NSW and Victoria will be recognised during the annual scholarship ceremony at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday 16 May. Eighty scholarships, valued at almost $220 000 dollars and donated by a variety of individuals and organisations, will be presented to students during a ceremony from 4pm to approximately 5.15pm in Joyes Hall, Pine Gully Road, CSU in Wagga Wagga. The University’s Deputy Chancellor, Ms Kathryn Pitkin, will attend the annual event along with the mayors of Junee, Temora and Tumut local councils as well as Wagga Wagga’s deputy mayor. The scholarships are distributed through the Charles Sturt University Foundation Trust. Read more about CSU scholarships here.