Mid North Coast residents can see what university study is all about at an information day for Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie on Thursday 29 August. The day aims to show prospective students and other visitors the courses, facilities and support CSU can offer. School Outreach Coordinator Ms Sandra Wallace said it was perfect for school leavers and TAFE students thinking of furthering their study, as well as those already working looking to improve their employment prospects or thinking of a career change. “Prospective students can meet with Charles Sturt University and North Coast TAFE academics to learn about courses on offer and entry pathways,” she said. “Prospective students will hear about the range of support services available and how the University can help them further their education and improve their career.” Representatives from the Universities Admissions Centre will also be on hand to help answer questions about the enrolment process. If you’re considering studying justice studies and policing, business, accounting, medical imaging, social work, health science, the creative industries, social science or psychology, or in becoming a paramedic, this day is for you.”

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) relationship with South Korea’s Hannam University will be celebrated and expanded during a visit to the Bathurst Campus on Tuesday 8 August. Professor Lee Sang-Yoon, President of Hannam University, and Dr. Whan Koo Kang, Director of the Institute for Academia-Industry Cooperation, will sign third and fourth subsequent agreements to an already existing Memorandum of Understanding. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Ross Chambers says the agreements already in place involve student exchange and web based learning, while one of the new agreements will see CSU and Hannam jointly teaching Theology and Ministry doctoral degrees. “The other is an agreement which will enable students from Hannam University to complete a science degree at CSU. So what we bring to the table is strength in applied science, while Hannam University is strong on general science,” said Professor Chambers. Vice-Chancellor of CSU, Professor Ian Goulter, says CSU’s relationship with Hannam University is an important one which could greatly benefit CSU students. “It is a university with about 15 000 full time students, with Faculties in Commerce, Science and Education, very similar to us in a way, strong in Teacher Education, strong in Science, strong in Business. They also have the Linton Academy for international students. We are really keen for our students to go off-shore for a semester and experience other cultures in an English speaking context. That is why the student exchange agreement is a good one.”

A Japanese university is seeking to extend the success of Australia’s Landcare movement, with its history of practical on-the-ground projects that protect the environment and maintain agricultural production. Ms Tomomi Maekawa, who is a fellow with Charles Sturt University’s Institute for Land Water and Society (ILWS) and PhD student with Tokyo Institute of Technology, will be joined by her supervisor Professor Toshio Kuwako from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Professor Michael Seigel from Nanzan University and another Japanese expert, as well as the chair of Australian Landcare International Mr Rob Youl. During their stay on the Border, the visitors will meet with local Landcare groups and ILWS research professor Allan Curtis, Australia’s leading expert on the Landcare movement. The group will visit the Institute on Monday 16 September to discuss Ms Tomomi’s study of Landcare with Professor Curtis.

A public lecture hosted by Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie and titled Advances in emergency medicine: when does time really matter? has been sold out. The lecture is the third in a series run by CSU in Port Macquarie in 2013 and Campus Director Dr Muyesser Durur said the community response had been very encouraging. “The community has really embraced this concept,” she said. “Part of Charles Sturt University’s role on the Mid North Coast is to bring the latest ideas from the Universitty’s areas of research directly to the community and this lecture series has demonstrated that’s something our community is very interested in.” The lecture, to be delivered by CSU paramedic program leader Mr Joe Acker, deals with recent significant advancements in emergency care that have affected the health and well being of patients. “In many cases, the success of these treatments begins when people call ‘000’ and the paramedics arrive,” he said. The lecture will explore these medical advances with examples from the Mid North Coast, and educate the public on how they can make a difference between life and death. Mr Acker has more than 22 years experience as a paramedic, educator, manager, and health executive in Canada prior to joining CSU in 2010. He has worked as a paramedic in urban, regional, rural, and Indigenous communities and spent 10 years as a critical care helicopter flight paramedic.

Two teams of Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bachelor of Pharmacy students have demonstrated their business acumen to claim a place in the quarter finals of a prestigious national competition. Ms Thanh Le and Ms Marina Mikhail along with Mr Neil D’Souza, Ms Seray Goktekin and Ms Pooja Balgi are taking part in the National Student Business Plan Competition organised by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia to promote creative entrepreneurship amongst pharmacy students. This is the first time CSU has entered a team in the competition and Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice with CSU’s School of Biomedical Sciences, Mr George John, said it was an opportunity for students to practice the pharmacy management and business skills taught in the classroom. “Students had to develop a sound business plan for buying a pharmacy and the model had to be innovative while addressing community needs,” he said. “I believe the competition will give them valuable experience for starting their own pharmacy business in the future.” CSU is one of 12 teams left in the competition and the quarter final round concludes on Friday 12 July.

Two staff members at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie received awards from the University recently. The 2013 Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence, and the 2013 Faculty and Division Awards, acknowledge the commitment, dedication and ongoing excellence demonstrated by academic and general staff across CSU. Ms Nicole Mitchell, academic support coordinator at CSU in Port Macquarie, was a member of two teams that were honoured: the TAFE to CSU Interact Site Project Team received a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Innovation; and the Regional and Remote Learning Support Team received a Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Performance Excellence. Senior lecturer in paramedics, Mr Joe Acker, received an individual excellence award from the CSU Faculty of Science  for his teaching of the discipline and helping to establish the course at CSU in Port Macquarie. Dr Muyesser Durur, Director of CSU in Port Macquarie, said, “I congratulate Nicole and Joe, as these awards recognise that our staff in Port Macquarie are making significant contributions to the development of the University and to our students’ career prospects. As the campus grows, we look forward to welcoming more staff contributions to the wider community.”

Staff and Students at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga will celebrate NSW Bike Week this week with a series of activities including a ride to work and study on Wednesday 18 September. CSU bicycle riders will assemble in QEII Square in Albury for a leisurely social ride that will leave at 7.40 am and arrive at Gums Café in Thurgoona, with a free breakfast for all riders at 8.30 am. Not only will participants reduce the number of cars around the busy roads of Thurgoona, reduce their carbon footprints and improve their health and well-being, but they will also enter a draw to win a bike and helmet valued at $600. Participants will also be able to try a game of Bike Polo on Thurgoona football oval from 1 pm on Wednesday 18 September for 15 minute games played with teams of three riders. The CSU community will also be able to view a compilation of bike movies on Thursday 19 September between noon and 3 pm at the Gums Café, CSU in Albury-Wodonga, off Elizabeth Mitchell Drive, Thurgoona.

Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) National Wine and Grape Industry Centre director Professor Alain Deloire will address the concept of ‘terroir’ as part of the University’s free public lecture series at CSU in Orange on Friday 27 September. Professor Deloire, previously a team leader in viticulture at world renowned Moet and Chandon, is co-author of a book on “grapevine physiology and terroir” and more than 100 peer-reviewed and popular articles. He said terroir was a complex, but important, notion for agri-food products, but measuring its effect on wine market trends remains difficult even for the experts since it could include climate and soil, people, social organisations and agricultural practices. Despite these complexities, the idea of geographical origin was still critical for products which lay claim to a “terroir-linked typicality”, he said. Head of Campus at CSU in Orange, Professor Heather Robinson, said the Explorations Series of lectures brings speakers from a range of disciplines to share the latest ideas, thinking and opinions on contemporary social, scientific and cultural issues with the NSW Central West community.

A public seminar highlighting current research in the Australian agriculture and wine industries will be presented by three Charles Sturt University (CSU) experts in North East Victoria on Wednesday 18 September. The seminar aims to encourage conversation about these significant industries and identify future research opportunities, and is part of the University’s engagement with regional community and industry. Dr John Harper, who is also with the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, will speak on Food for Thought: Agriculture in the 21st Century; Professor David Falepau, with the Graham Centre, on Rethinking Agribusiness education; and Professor Chris Steele, with the National Wine and Grape industry Centre, will speak on Grapes and Wine in Australia: our past and our future. The seminar will start at 4 pm on 18 September in the CSU building on GOTAFE’s Rural Industries Campus, 218 Tone Road in Wangaratta.