The first Australian to win a gold medal at a Winter Olympics, Mr Steven Bradbury, will be the special guest at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) annual Blues Ball in Bathurst on Tuesday 8 October. Ms Jean Ryan, CSU student support officer and event organiser, said, “The Blues Ball is the end of year presentation dinner to honour Charles Sturt University students’ and clubs’ achievements in 2013. Mr Bradbury won the gold medal in the short track speed skating Men’s 1 000 metres event at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt lake City, Utah, USA, in February 2002. He is now an international motivational speaker, and we look forward to his presentation ‘Last Man Standing’ about his ‘road to gold’.” The sports soccer, rugby, fencing, netball, ultimate frisbee, rugby league, basketball, touch football, gymnastics, lawn bowls, and hockey will all be represented and in the running for the award of CSU Club of the Year to be announced at the celebration. The 2013 CSU Blues Ball will be held at the Rafters Bar (building C4) at CSU in Bathurst on Tuesday 8 October. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased from Ms Jean Ryan in building C4 (the auditorium and bar) or from the cashier at building S18 (mini mart).

The latest debate on climate change and bushfires is “the discussion the Australian community has to have”, a senior CSU ecologist says. Associate Professor David Watson with the University’s Institute for Land, Water and Society said the latest debate is a timely reminder of the importance of extreme weather events in Australia. “Recent reports have shown climate change is real and is linked to increasing extremes in weather such as droughts and dry periods, which will increase the chance of bushfires,” said Professor Watson. “Increasing incidences of floods and cyclones are also more likely with climate change, so we as a nation need to consider how we are going to address this. We need to plan for both short-term responses and longer term planning of our cities and settlements across Australia and the various landscapes that will be affected. This is not a political issue — in 2006, then Prime Minister John Howard linked human-induced climate change with increased bushfire risk.  Insurers, agronomists and many other industries are already planning for increases in bushfires, severe storms and other extreme events, so it seems incongruous that the federal government is not being more pro-active.  We cannot afford to sit back and just let climate change happen with doing something about it,” he said.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) researchers investigating the detection, prevention and monitoring of diabetes are seeking participants at CSU in Orange in November. Biomedical Sciences lecturer with CSU’s School of Community Health, Dr Hayder Al-Aubaidy, said the research will seek new biochemical markers to screen patients for diabetes and abnormally low blood glucose levels which show prediabetes to predict the development of diabetic complications such as cardiovascular and renal disease and to monitor patients’ responses to treatment. “The earlier we can detect prediabetes, the better chance we have to prevent progression into diabetes and reduce the risk of diabetic complications,” he said. Study participants will have their blood pressure, height and weight measured, body mass index calculated, and blood and urine samples taken to test for biochemical indicators including blood sugar, glycosylated haemoglobin, and blood fats. Participants also answer questions about their overall health, medical conditions and current medication. “We will give each participant the results of their tests, including blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels,” Dr Al-Aubaidy said. Each session will take about an hour, and will be conducted at CSU in Orange in early November. To participate in the study or for more details, contact Dr Al-Aubaidy on (02) 6365 7512 or send an email.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Andrew Vann will meet with community leaders around Wagga Wagga to discuss how CSU can deliver more benefits for the city and community. Professor Vann will host the Vice-Chancellor’s Regional Leaders Luncheon at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Friday 4 October for community leaders and partners to strengthen partnerships in the region. Professor Vann said the luncheon was an opportunity to discuss how the University could work more closely with community and business groups. “The luncheon will bring together community leaders and partners to discuss the contribution of Charles Sturt University,” he said. “More importantly, it will provide an opportunity for the community to tell us about the opportunities they see for the University to contribute and identify the challenges we can work together to overcome.” Guests will be invited to contribute thoughts and suggestions during the luncheon, which will be held at CSU in Wagga Wagga, from noon to 2pm.

Representatives of the Australian Rugby Union and Samoa Rugby Union will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst this week to advise and prepare 13 female CSU students for their visit to schools in Samoa in mid-November to coach female school students who play rugby. Dr Matthew Winslade, lecturer at the School of Human Movement Studies said the trip is part of the University’s participation in the Pacific in Union: Mass Participation Program – Rugby4Schools. The Pacific in Union representatives are Mr Warren Robilliard and Ms Jocelyn Elliott from Australian Rugby Union, and Mr Luke Fonoti Gates with Samoa Rugby Union. “Our pre-service teachers will work with and gain firsthand experience from three of the most experienced sports outreach educators in the Pacific region,” Dr Winslade said. “Warren and Jocelyn have spent extensive time teaching, coaching and creating sports-based health programs for the South Pacific. Luke will travel from the Samoan capital, Apia, to Bathurst to provide our students with invaluable practical and cultural knowledge on Samoan culture prior to their departure. Our pre-service teachers can contribute to a worthwhile and successful international program aligned with the United Nations Millennium Goals and supported by the Australian Rugby Union to improve health outcomes for Samoan children. This training will help prepare our students for the cultural differences they will experience while in Samoa, and assist them to in working with school children and community groups.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Bachelor of Agricultural Science students demonstrated their grain industry knowledge by placing second in the team category of the Australian Universities Crop Competition. The three-day event, held in Temora from Wednesday 18 to Friday 20 September, saw students from six universities tested on everything from grain grading and yield potential through to weed identification, business skills and farm management software. Dr Sergio Moroni, lecturer in crop agronomy from CSU’s School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences, coached the team and said the students performed well. “It takes a great effort and independent training for this competition as students volunteered to represent the University and their preparation was done outside of their current study obligations,” he said. CSU was represented by Mr Cameron Prien, Mr Nathanael Liersch, Ms Georgia Branson, Mr Lachlan Vogan and Mr Jamie Thornberry. The annual competition is hosted by GrainGrowers.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has invited interested stakeholders from the Port Macquarie community to attend a Student Accommodation workshop on Wednesday 9 October. The workshop will explore options for the development of student accommodation to service the new campus being built by CSU in Port Macquarie. Construction will begin in 2014, and the new campus is expected to be ready for occupation by late 2015. Campus Director Dr Muyesser Durur said the workshop was an opportunity for CSU to ensure the development of student accommodation met the needs of the community and the University. “The community has welcomed Charles Sturt University into the area and has been very supportive throughout the planning stages for the new campus,” she   said. “This workshop is continuing the discussion, and ensuring any student accommodation is developed to benefit the University and the community.”

"I just love seeing the kids achieve, it is so much fun ... I didn’t really want to be a mainstream teacher, special education is where I want to be." Sarah Poulos is seeing her dreams coming true. Currently in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Primary Education (Special Education) at Charles Sturt University (CSU), she describes her professional development goals as “to do my Masters and to secure a permanent job in a Special Education classroom - they are now both set in concrete.” Sarah has received a two-year scholarship from the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) valued at $15 000. Next year, Sarah will move to RIDBC in Sydney to complete a Master of Special Education degree, specialising in hearing impairment. She will work with children with cochlear implants, getting them ready for mainstream schools. Life is very full for Sarah; she is just back from one of her regular trips overseas, her summer job as a lifeguard and swim school coordinator at Dubbo Aquatic Leisure Centre begins soon in September, and she is getting married at Christmas.

Videoconferencing will be a significant component of teaching in the future according to Charles Sturt University (CSU) mathematics lecturer Michael Kemp who spoke at a public seminar today about the challenges facing lecturers who are not always teaching in the same room as their students. “As the world evolves into a smaller place with email and videoconferencing becoming an everyday occurrence, Australia’s largest regional university CSU has trained their academics to use the latest technology and present lectures to students throughout NSW and across the country.” Having taught mathematics via videoconferences and forums during the past semester at CSU, Mr Kemp looked at his practices through a survey with students to present a public seminar on lessons learnt titled Lessons Learned About Remote Teaching.