A series of science and technology activities will be held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga over the next three days as part of the annual program, The Science Experience. Eighteen Riverina students from Years 9, 10 and 11 will engage with CSU scientists and researchers from 9.15am on Wednesday 16 January until 3pm on Friday 18 January in the fields of computing science, agriculture, chemistry, biology, oral health, and allied health. The students will work in CSU facilities such as the nursing laboratory, the new National Life Sciences Hub, computer laboratory, and oral health laboratory. A catered lunch will also be held for the students and their parents from 1.30pm on Friday 18 January, to be followed by an information session about the variety of careers available in the sciences. The Science Experience is hosted by the CSU Faculty of Science, and is part of a national program held at more than 37 universities and tertiary institutions. Read more about the program here.

School leavers whose Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) was not as high as they had hoped have been told they don’t have to give up their university aspirations, with Charles Sturt University (CSU) continuing its Pathway Program in 2013. The program, a partnership between CSU and TAFE, runs for one year full-time and provides entry options for students who applied to CSU but were unsuccessful, or who need further preparation. Pathway coordinator Ms Sandra Fisher said the program offered multiple benefits. “Upon completion, students receive a Diploma of General Studies from Charles Sturt University and the Certificate IV in Further Education, or Tertiary Preparation Certificate from TAFE,” she said. “They are also guaranteed entry into a range of CSU degrees and may receive credit for some subjects.” The program is offered face-to-face at CSU in Bathurst, Wagga Wagga and Albury-Wodonga, and this year will be offered at CSU in Dubbo as a blended distance education option.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) will once again host the Wagga Triathlon Club ‘Come and Tri’ Triathlon. CSU has hosted the popular event in Wagga Wagga for the past two years and in January 2013, the tradition continues. Race day is Sunday 20 January and the course includes Pine Gully Road, Valder Way and Nathan Cobb Drive, as well as the pool complex at CSU in Wagga Wagga. Runners will compete in some of the most beautiful surroundings with lemon scented gum trees and gentle undulating hills providing a very scenic and competitive course. Manager of Operations and Maintenance at CSU in Wagga Wagga, Mr Terry O’Meara, said, “We are pleased that the triathlon will once again be held at Charles Sturt University. We have completed a considerable amount of work on the campus and it is great to be able to share facilities with the wider community.” Race director, Ms Trudi Beck, said, “We are thankful that Charles Sturt University has allowed the Wagga Triathlon Club to use their facilities again.” A race briefing will be held 15 minutes prior to the start at 8am.

The Charles Sturt University (CSU) Regional and Remote Learning Support Team will visit Homebush in Sydney as well as Broken Hill in far west NSW next week to assist distance education students in person. CSU manager of Regional and Remote Support, Mr James Brann, said “The University’s outreach program is free for current Charles Sturt University distance education students, and is designed to assist them to be more successful in their studies. We hold both group and one-to-one sessions with students to provide advice and guidance about online learning, effective reading skills, note taking, time management, and assignment writing.” Learning support advisers will be at Sydney Olympic Park at Homebush on Monday 18 February for individual sessions from 1.30pm to 3pm, and for a group session from 5.30pm to 7pm. To book a place at the Homebush session students are asked to please email Mr James Brann on jbrann@csu.edu.au. On Tuesday 19 February at the Western Insitute of TAFE in Broken Hill individual sessions are from 10.30am to 12pm, then again from 1.30pm to 3pm, with a group session from 5.30pm to 7pm. To book a place at a session in Broken Hill please email Ms Diane Middleton on dmiddleton@csu.edu.au or Ms Sharon Patterson on spatterson@csu.edu.au .

Bathurst will once again be “humming” this week to the sound of V8 Supercars. Tomorrow, Wednesday 4 October, two of the official Fujitsu V8 Supercar Championship drivers, David Clark from Optima Sport, and Michael Caruso from Decina Racing, will drive simulated laps of Mount Panorama in the computer games laboratory which is part of Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Information Technology. Paull Young from BAM Media, which looks after several V8 Supercar teams said it is like the real thing. “Michael hasn’t driven at Bathurst before, and David hasn’t driven a V8 Supercar around Mount Panorama, so their first experience of the Bathurst track will be in the computer lab.” As well, CSU lecturer in Computer Science Errol Chopping, says the computer games lab is well fitted out with enhanced graphics PCs, game consoles, a large fixed silver projection screen, high powered projectors, audio systems, joysticks and steering wheels. “The lab is used to research feedback which the user gets through feel, touch and motion, rather than eyes and ears. For example, we are hoping to mirror an experiment that was done in the United States about untrained pilots flying into cloud. They have a life span of about 147 seconds because they lose spatial orientation and they don’t believe their instruments. They go into graveyard spins and spiral dives because they have no feedback from their eyes.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is continuing to expand its international links with the latest Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signings in Switzerland. Berne University of Applied Sciences (USAB) has strong similarities with CSU, according to Associate Professor Greg Walker, Head of CSU’s School of Marketing and Management. “Like us, USAB was formed out of a group of regional colleges of higher education and has the largest number of postgraduate students in Switzerland. It is this type of collorative and exchange agreement that strengthens an already robust relationship between senior CSU staff in the University’s Faculty of Commerce and UASB’s Management School,” says Associate Professor Walker. The relationship has already provided for enrolment of UASB students in CSU’s Doctor of Business Administration program, while CSU’s Master of Business Administration is now linked with UASB study tour programs in Europe and China. “The study tours enable CSU students to visit some of Europe's leading companies and provide a rich learning experience for students. There are also provisions for CSU and UASB staff to have extended working visits at our respective institutions.”

A documentary following the life of a Tibetan Yak herder has given livestock owners a better understanding of challenges faced by Chinese agriculturalists. Anthropologist Baima Cuo has fascinated those attending a Charles Sturt University (CSU) public lecture with her presentation titled The Life of Yaks on the Tibetan Plateau. Born in Tibet, Baima Cuo completed her degree in Beijing and spent time in Norway before arriving in Orange. Baima’s presentation will become a documentary produced by Baima’s supervisor Professor Gunnar Haaland from Norway. The documentary follows the life of Tibetan herder who lives in Naqchu, Northern Tibet. “This kind of life is something not many people get to see, so to hear first hand about Baima’s experience in Tibet has been fantastic,” says lecture chair Kerry Cochrane.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) photography students currently in their final year of study will hold an auction of their photographic works at the Wilson Street Gallery in Albury on Friday 6 October. The images incorporate a variety of photographic styles and methods, spanning black and white images, colour and digital. Auction organiser and CSU student Sophie Koskela says the images are suitable for the home or business and “there will be something to suit everyone’s tastes”. All proceeds from the auction, which starts at 6pm, will go towards the annual CSU Graduation Exhibition to be held in the Albury Regional Art Gallery opening later in October.

“Rural and remote health practioners, like their metropolitan and city-dwelling counterparts, enjoy meeting with their colleagues, chewing the fat, and seeing a face-to-face lecture”, says Professor Patrick Ball, from Charles Sturt University’s School of Biomedical Sciences. Inland-based pharmacists will have another chance to hear about how they can make a difference to the health of their community at the third and final Pharmacy Continuing Education Session to be hosted by CSU’s Wagga Wagga and Orange campuses. Speakers include Dr Judith Crockett, senior lecturer in the School of Rural Management at the University’s newly launched Orange Campus, who will talk about depression in rural communities and Dr Debbie Burton who will update attendees on asthma research and findings. Professor Ball adds that “Professor Carroll from the University of New South Wales will talk about Parkinson’s disease whilst Mr Rollo Manning, a well known mover and shaker within the profession who is based in the Northern Territory, will talk about his work with Indigenous communities and providing solutions for rural and remote pharmacy in general”.