The Mitchell Student Guild of Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst will again host the annual Kids Day Out charity fundraiser on Saturday 3 March. The director of this year’s Kids Day Out, Ms Alyce Woods, said, “This year’s event promises to be a jam-packed day with appearances from everyone’s favourites, Dora the Explorer and her cousin Diego, and Toy Story characters Buzz and Woody, as well as our favourite fairy, Tinkerbell. This year we’ll also have some great rides for both the little kids and the big kids at heart. All proceeds will go to the Bathurst Base Hospital Paediatric Ward, and the local Riding for the Disabled organisation.” The event will also feature carnival rides, kids craft making stalls, an animal petting zoo, jumping castles, barbeque and food stalls, candy and show bags, a community stage with various local musicians and performers, raffles, roving performers, face painting, an ambulance on display, and a special look at our emergency services.

The social, sporting and cultural side of university life will be on show this Friday 2 March when the annual Club’s Day is held at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga. Hosted by the University’s Student Services, approximately 30 student clubs will be vying for new members from 1pm to 5pm outside the food and beverage venue, eat@20. The student organisations will range from football, hockey and netball clubs, to clubs aligned with courses such as animal science, oral health and acting. Students are being encouraged to join a club to enhance their University experiences. One of the clubs looking for new members will be the University’s Fire Twirling Club. Vice-president and CSU Bachelor of Information Technology, Mr Allan Buckman, said the club had 22 members in 2011 and performed at several student events on-campus last year and again during the recent Orientation Week.

A Japanese academic will visit Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst this week to discuss plans for a filmmaking project linking local high school students with Bathurst sister-city, Okhuma, in Japan. Associate Professor Jane Mills, a lecturer and researcher at the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst, will host the visit by Associate Professor Hirotoshi Yaginuma, a fine arts teacher from the Faculty of Education at Niigata University. They will collaborate on the project, and will discuss it with CSU staff in Bathurst and Wagga Wagga, via video-conference, on Wednesday 29 February. “Professor Yaginuma and I are planning a screen literacy research project involving teachers and students from Bathurst High School and from Bathurst’s sister city of Okhuma, who have been relocated to another city, away from the nearby tsunami-caused nuclear disaster zone at Fukushima last year,” Professor Mills said. “This project relates to research about the role of popular screen culture in student engagement levels, the capabilities of the camera on a smart phone for screen literacy learning, and the potential of the mobile phone camera for cultural participation and global citizenship.”

A multi-million dollar makeover of the William Merrylees Library at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga is getting its first real test this week as new and continuing students commence their on-campus classes for the new academic year. The four-storey building has undergone a $7.5 million dollar refurbishment over the past year to create a Library Learning Commons for students. The project includes library facilities, public and private study spaces, computer laboratories, formal and casual learning spaces, researchers' rooms, parents' rooms for students with small children, a mix of group study and multimedia spaces, and a new café called Common Crust with indoor and outdoor seating. Executive Director of the University’s Division of Facilities Management, Mr Stephen Butt, said, “One of the main attractions of the new Library Learning Commons is 24-hour access for students to computing facilities and online resources on the first and second floors. Similar Library Learning Commons are used by students at CSU in Albury-Wodonga and Bathurst.” The project has been funded by CSU and the Federal Government's Teaching and Learning Capital Fund.

Having raised more than $16 000 in the past two years, Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange hope to donate another large sum to the NSW Cancer Council on Saturday 10 March. This follows staff involvement in Relay for Life, an annual community event where teams participate in an overnight relay-style walk or run to raise funds for the NSW Cancer Council. Team coordinator and lecturer in anatomy and physiology in the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU, Dr James Wickham, believes the commitment of University staff to the community plays a big part in their fundraising success. “We have a smaller number of staff taking part this year, but they’re just as enthusiastic as ever,” Dr Wickham says. “Charles Sturt University staff enjoy participating in community events and this is for a good cause, so we can always rely on our family and friends to help us donate money for cancer research.” To support the CSU team in Relay for Life click here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Wagga Wagga has welcomed more than 60 new international students from countries including South Korea, Japan, Colombia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.  Among them is PhD student Mr Muhammad Shoaib Tufail, from Pakistan. Mr Tufail’s research through CSU’s School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences focuses on the development of village-based forage seed production enterprises to make small farms more sustainable. “I’ve worked with Charles Sturt University under Australian Support Linkage Program (ASLP) in Pakistan and I’m pleased to continue that association with research that has the potential to benefit millions of small, mixed farms in my country,” he said. Mr Tufail has embraced student life, taking on a role leading the International Student Club at CSU. The new international students had a chance to mingle at an informal morning tea hosted by the Learning Skills staff within the University’s Academic Support in Wagga Wagga on Friday 24 February. The International Student Club is one of a number of organisations involved in Club’s Day at CSU in Wagga Wagga on Friday 2 March. Read more here.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has partnered with The Project Management Institute (PMI) Sydney Chapter to offer a world-first industry-based qualification for project managers. Participants will gain international recognition as a PMI Project Management Professional as part of the course. Scholarship applications are now invited for the Graduate Diploma of Project Management. Dean of CSU’s Commerce Faculty Professor John Hicks believes education in project management is a rapidly developing field in the tertiary education sector. “CSU is pleased to be participating with industry experts in the development of subjects and courses to meet the educational needs of the profession.” Enrolment applications are new being accepted by CSU and scholarships have been donated by PMI to support the launch of the new qualification.

The annual Kids Day Out charity fundraiser planned for Saturday 3 March at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst has been postponed due to the recent heavy rain. Ms Alyce Woods, the director of the event organised by the Mitchell Student Guild at CSU, said, “Due to heavy rain in Bathurst this week we have had to postpone the 2012 Kids Day Out until September. We regret any inconvenience, but the ground is just too soggy for the safe and practical staging of the event. We look forward to better conditions later in the year, and hope to delight children and families with a fun-filled day then.”

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has developed degrees and extensive facilities to promote the importance of preschool education, and its new Murray Children’s Centre at CSU in Albury-Wodonga is an important step in expanding on the University’s commitment to early childhood education. The centre director, Dr Sydnye Allen, said the facility is dedicated to supporting and demonstrating best practice for preschool children and their families. “We provide spaces throughout the building to encourage families to be part of their children’s education, which includes shared meal spaces and a private room for feeding young children,” Dr Allen said. “Our well-qualified preschool staff include early childhood education graduates from CSU’s School of Education which is also located on the campus.” Places are now available at the CSU Murray Children’s Centre.