The Internet is often described as ”interactive” but what does that really mean? A public lecture to be presented by Charles Sturt University Division of Student Services deputy director Les Burr will look at the way the internet is rapidly becoming a commodity and its users are becoming consumers. Latest research has found that more female students go online than male students, as do older students compared to younger ones. Students from rural areas use the Internet more than their city-based counterparts. “This is a direct contradiction of the three things that are said to be hurdles to studying online, that it is male-dominated, that it is only for the young and that those living in rural areas are disadvantaged,” says Mr Burr The lecture will be held at the Tumbarumba Shire Council Chambers, Tumbarumba on Wednesday 28 March from 6pm.

The biology behind the current obesity epidemic in the Western world will be explored by Dr Wouter Kalle from Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences at a public lecture titled ‘Evolution, genetics and psychology: the holistic view on obesity’ on Friday 22 July. “It is amazing to see how the evolution of the human brain has given enormous advantages to the species but also how these advantages can lead to health problems in certain social and cultural settings,” Dr Kalle said. The lecture will cover the basics of human evolution and genetics. Including examples and stories, the lecture will also go into the specifics of the development of human nutrition and human food patterns before finally touching on obesity and its biological ‘triggers’. Dr Kalle jokes, “Unfortunately this lecture will not give an easy slimming solution”.

Students from Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange and Wagga Wagga will receive state-wide rural scholarships from the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) of NSW Foundation. Four CSU students from Orange and seven from Wagga Wagga are among almost 40 people from across NSW who will receive a scholarship, each valued at between $1 500 and $5 000 . The scholarships are awarded by the Foundation to students who ‘demonstrate a passion for rural issues and the determination to make a difference’. A ceremony will be held on Thursday 21 July from 6pm at CSU in Wagga Wagga where RAS Foundation director Mr John B Fairfax, AO, will present the scholarships to local students. A similar ceremony was held in Orange on Thursday 14 July.

At a time when agriculture is facing a skills shortage, a careers fair at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga will give prospective employers the chance to meet students. The student-led careers fair on Thursday 28 July aims to showcase the diversity of career paths in primary industries and to help students make contacts and gain work experience. Students in the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences and the School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences have enlisted exhibitors from agribusiness, government departments, research and development corporations, and farming organisations. The fair will feature career development workshops and CSU graduates will share their experiences of the workforce.  Member of the fair's organising committee and Bachelor of Animal Science student Mr Isaac Allen said more than 200 students from CSU in Albury-Wodonga, Orange and Wagga Wagga are expected to attend the annual event. “Companies in certain sectors are really feeling the pinch of the skills shortage,” he said. “Now more than ever, there are opportunities for graduates to pursue careers in the agricultural industries.”

From libraries to op shops, ebay and even linen closets-artists, Associate Professor Margaret Woodward and Ms Justy Phillips from Charles Sturt University (CSU) have gone to extraordinary lengths to explore how the symbols of Australia seen in tourist souvenirs contribute to our national identity. Professor Woodward is the Head of the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU while Ms Phillips is an adjunct lecturer at the School. Their work, Greetings from Aggaw Aggaw can be seen at the Art Gallery in Wagga Wagga from Friday 29 July. Professor Woodward said the exhibition uses textiles, vintage souvenir ware, upholstery, text and sculpture to challenge ideas of national identity and the tourist experience. “It is an extension of ideas developed in research into tourist ephemera and how souvenirs contribute to defining a sense of place through evoking nostalgia and constructing stereotypes.” Ms Phillips hopes people will question how we name, record, promote and establish our familiar places. The exhibition is the culmination of three years of collaborative research focusing on cultural iconography and representations of contemporary Australian identity.

A national conference for Australian pharmacy students will be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga in 2012. Members of the University’s student club, Pharmers' Society  won a competitive bid to host the National Australian Pharmacy Students’ Association or NAPSA Congress in January 2012. “Our successful bid to host this national event is sweetened by the fact this is the first time the annual NAPSA conference will be held in a regional centre,” fourth year CSU pharmacy student Mr Sean Dodd said. “We are very proud that the event will be held in inland Australia. It is a vote of confidence in those of us that choose to live, study and ultimately pursue our chosen profession in regional Australia to improve health services,” pharmacy student Ms Amy Minett said. “The work has now begun to stage a relevant and cutting edge conference in Wagga Wagga for more than 200 students from 13 universities,” Mr Dodd said. Head of CSU’s School of Biomedical Sciences Associate Professor Lyndall Angel said, “Again the pharmacy students at Charles Sturt University have shone and shown their maturity and dedication to serve rural and regional Australia”. Read more about the NAPSA Congress Wagga Wagga 2012  here.

During International Year of Chemistry 2011, the role chemistry plays in telling us about changes in the world around us is the focus of a seminar at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga on Monday 18 July. The seminar, entitled Chemistry in the real world – from nanotechnology to freshwater ecology, will showcase research in chemistry in the University’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences. Senior lecturer Dr Paul Prenzler said the study of chemistry helps us to have a better understanding of what is happening in the real world. “Underlying our health as humans and the health of the environment around us are chemical processes that can take place at very small or ‘nano’ levels or large scales, such as water quality in rivers,” he said. The seminar will discuss antioxidants and human health, river and soil health, along with wine colour and quality.

A search into the past of the Riverina and Murray regions is being made easier with the Charles Sturt University (CSU) Regional Archives extending its opening hours in Wagga Wagga. The collection, which spans 4 500 metres of shelves and boxes, includes State Archives, Regional Records and CSU Archives. CSU Regional Archives Manager, Mr Wayne Doubleday said, “We extended the weekday opening hours to include the first Saturday of each month as a trial. The idea is to be open to people from the wider community and Charles Sturt University who cannot visit the Archives in normal business hours during the week. The collection is so diverse, I think anyone who visits will definitely find something to interest them, from photographs, newspapers and maps, to land records and family history resources - just to name a few. We’re incredibly lucky to have a great resource like the Archives based in regional NSW. It’s amazing what you can find in history if you look hard enough.” The CSU Regional Archives is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and the first Saturday of each month from 10am to 3pm. The next weekend opening will be Saturday 6 August.

Questions about student career development and work opportunities are explored daily by the Careers Service at Charles Sturt University (CSU). However a free public lecture to be held in Deniliquin on Wednesday 20 July takes the question of career development further to explore a student’s sense of purpose. Hosted by CSU and Deniliquin Council, the lecture will be presented by Mr Paul Worsfold, a Career Development Officer at CSU in Wagga Wagga. “The focus of our Careers Service has shifted from a traditional role of simply preparing students for graduate employment opportunities to career development work starting soon after students enrol at university, if not sooner,” said Mr Worsfold. “Now we explore a student’s ‘sense of purpose’ and what is known as a ‘sense of agency’ or becoming one’s own agent for achieving life, learning and work aspirations. So career development, ‘sense of purpose’ and ‘sense of agency’ are all key aspects supporting student retention. The work of the Careers Service, its use of career action plans, tools for student reflection and a little research, all indicate that career development learning is more than helping students to find a job.”