The role of librarians and teachers in preventing cyber-bullying will be discussed in a public lecture hosted by Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Information Studies on Wednesday 29 February. In her lecture at CSU in Wagga Wagga, the Director of School Information Studies at McGill University in Canada, Associate Professor France Bouthillier, will explore how the popularity of social media and the commercialisation of new technology have the potential to bring cyber-bullying into public spaces such as libraries. CSU Research Fellow, Dr Paul Scifleet, said the School of Information Studies is excited to be hosting the seminar. “Balancing safety and a duty of care with access to social media in this rich information landscape is a genuine concern for us all,” he said. “Dr Bouthillier's presentation will be a valuable exploration of the current issues and challenges faced by those who provide public access.”

International students from around the world will be welcomed this week to Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga and, for some, to Australia. Approximately 35 students from South Korea, Canada, America, Ireland, Nepal, Zimbabwe, India and Malaysia will undertake undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in disciplines such as business, health and environmental sciences. CSU’s International Student Support Officer, Ms Rachel Ayton, said Orientation Week was an important time for international students, as it laid the foundation for their lives and studies at CSU and in the Border region. “I’m really looking forward to getting to know our new students and look forward to helping them settle into their new environment on the Border,” Ms Ayton said. On Friday 24 February, some of the group will visit the oz.e.wildlife Sanctuary to meet the ‘locals’, starting after 10.30am and leaving at 12.30pm. A second group of international students will arrive at 2.30pm.

Academics in health disciplines will hold a day-long trial in the new $2.8 million regional inter-professional clinical simulation centre at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst on Friday 24 February. Coordinator of the trial, Dr Ann Lazarsfeld-Jensen, a lecturer in the Bachelor of Clinical Practice in the School of Biomedical Sciences, said, “This first event in the new clinical simulation centre will be an exciting pilot run for a major research project, with another exercise scheduled for April. We will run five scenarios on a tight schedule using ‘actors’ (staff) from the School of Biomedical Science. Medical professionals are generally taught in their own discipline groups and have little contact with each other until they get into clinical settings. In the simulation centre, we will have inter-disciplinary groups – nurses, doctors, registrars, paramedics and other health professionals – working together in the research project.” The $153 000 research project is funded by Australian General Practice Education (GPET), in collaboration with Beyond Medical Education (BME) which is responsible for the further training of general practitioners in this region.

The first students enrolled in courses at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Port Macquarie will commence their studies with Orientation Week. Activities start this Thursday 23 February at 4pm with the official welcome to the campus for around 30 new students and their parents and friends by the newly-appointed Campus Director, Dr Muyesser Durur, and CSU Dean of Studies, Professor Ken Dillon. “Students will get to meet their teaching staff and find out what it’s like to study and work at university,” Dr Durur said. The students will then receive information on the CSU library, support services and academic advice. The new students in Port Macquarie are enrolled in such diverse CSU courses as business studies, social work, and health and rehabilitation science.

There’ll be more than a few proud audience members at the official viewing of a new video to promote Wagga Wagga as a place to visit, to live and to do business. The four minute film, Wagga Wagga…Twice as Good, featuring members of the Wagga City Rugby Men’s Choir and Murrumbidgee Magic singing Eric Bogle’s Shelter, will be launched at 4pm on Saturday 25 February in Wagga Wagga. Produced by Mr Greg Conkey, the new film was directed and edited by Mr Matthew Olsen, a television production lecturer from the School of Communication and Creative Industries at CSU in Wagga Wagga. In addition to the use of the University’s editing and audio equipment, television production lecturer, Mr Patrick Sproule, technical officer, Mr David Hawke, and technical support officer, Mr Andrew Harris, donated their time as sound engineers. Third-year television production student Mr Johannes Sudbrink, from Germany, was employed as camera operator. Mr Olsen said, “I felt, as a local resident, it was important I lend my professional skills to promote the wonders of Wagga Wagga to the wider world. By donating its facilities and staff, Charles Sturt University also shares this view.”

The first group of Aboriginal students enrolled in the new Teacher in Community program at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Dubbo will attend an introductory residential school starting on Monday 27 February. Ms Maria Bennet, lecturer at the CSU School of Teacher Education in Dubbo, said the students enrolled in the four-year mainstream Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) will be on campus for their first residential school from Monday 27 February to Friday 2 March, inclusive. “My colleagues, Professor Jo-Anne Reid who devised the program, and project officer Ms Kathryn Walford, and I are delighted with the strong interest in and support for this program from communities across western NSW,” Ms Bennet said. “We look forward to welcoming the three male and 16 female students who come from rural and remote locations in NSW: Dubbo, Wagga Wagga, Gilgandra, Walgett, Wilcannia, Bourke, Darlington Point, Brewarrina, Narrabri, Broken Hill, and Dareton. As part of their first orientation program, the students will attend on campus classes and be introduced to the technology and systems that will then support them to continue to study in their communities.” Three other residential schools are scheduled for 23 April, 9 July and 3 September. The pilot project is funded by the Higher Education Participation and Partnership Program (HEPPP) of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

A leading advocate for the establishment of a new rural medical school at Charles Sturt University (CSU) will meet local councillors in Orange on Tuesday 28 February to update them on the University’s bid. Professor John Dwyer, founder of the Australian Health Care Reform Alliance and medical consultant to CSU, has been invited to address Orange City Council about the University’s proposal to establish a medical school. Professor Dwyer has been studying the reasons for the rural doctor shortage with colleagues from CSU for the last two years. He has argued recently that projected health budget savings from the federal government’s proposed introduction of means testing for health insurance rebates should be redirected to establishing a new rural medical school at CSU. If the bid proves successful, the School will be located at CSU in Orange. Professor Dwyer will address Council at 5.30pm Tuesday 28 February at the Council Chamber, corner of Byng Street and Lords Place, Orange.

A local perspective on, and planning for, a possible avian influenza outbreak is the subject of a public forum to be held in Albury this Thursday 3 November. Hosting the free public event is Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) Institute for Land Water and Society. Entitled Bird Flu - a local perspective, the forum will hear from four local speakers including CSU’s Dr David Roshier. Speakers will field questions from the audience during the forum, which will be chaired by the Head of CSU School of Environmental and Information Sciences, Professor Nick Klomp. The evening commences at 6.30pm in the University’s Nowik Auditorium, Guinea Street, Albury. All are welcome, with light refreshments available. Attendees are asked to RSVP to Kris Deegan on telephone (02) 6051 9992 or send an email.

Coffee is a ubiquitous part of modern life, and disposable coffee cups are a growing problem in waste disposal landfills. The Gums Café at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Albury-Wodonga is leading the way in sustainability by trialling the use of biodegradable cups that take a year or less to decompose in landfill. These compare favourably to the common disposable cups that can take many years to break down due to the plastic film that lines the cups. Chair of the local Campus Environmental Committee, Dr John Rafferty, said, “Last year, we looked at how people dispose of their cups. They tend to put them in the normal garbage bins, as they have the remains of coffee in them. We would have thousands of cups going through our bins each week. We have decided to do something about it and use biodegradable cups that are much friendlier to the environment and break down much faster than the old cups.”